Crisis on Two Earths: A Love Story
by Restrictors
Summary: Based on the movie Crisis on Two Earths. Lex Luthor, leader of the Justice League from a parallel Earth, has lost all but one ally, M'yri'ah J'onzz. Lex is hoping by traveling to another world that they can persuade Martian Manhunter and the other Justice League members to help them in their crusade to take down the Crime Syndicate. J'onnXM'yri'ah
1. Chapter 1

After long moments of waiting Lex finally cleared his throat and brought the meeting to order. "We're all here." He sat at the head of a rectangular conference table. There was only one person on either side of him.

On his left was the Jester. He was dressed appropriately for this name. He was the only one left from his original band of superheroes. "All of us?" The Jester joked with him for his choice of words. "Are you sure you don't want to do a head count? Take roll call? There are so many of us left."

"I can't believe I'm in here." Medic said softly, speaking out of turn as well. There was no need for the meeting to be formal, so she felt free to speak her mind. She had never been invited into the conference room before today, having never played an important role in the Justice League. She had been a part of the support staff until recently when they lost all but two of their founding members.

Lex eyed the woman on his right who was looking nervous at being brought to the table. It was just the three of them now. He and the Jester didn't have any extraordinary abilities outside their gadgetry. The only Justice League member left that had any super powers was a unseasoned medical doctor who they called Medic. Her real name was M'yri'ah J'onzz, a Martian he had come across during his travels to other worlds. Her usual uniform was on, white with red lines running through. She had incorporated crosses on the design as a sort of homage to the medical field on earth.

"Me either." The Jester agreed with her.

"Please, be serious the both of you." Luthor said, resting his elbows on the table and clasping his hands together. "I hope you read your briefing packets."

"Oh yes, all that boring crap about a Quantum Trigger and it being a power source. Big bomb, blah blah blah." The Jester let his chin rest on his hand, looking rather tired of the meeting already. "Just get to the point Lex."

"The point is we need to steal the Quantum Trigger. Without that their bomb is useless. I have a plan..."

"And then what?" Medic asked, interrupting him. "They aren't going to just let us keep it and we have no way of protecting the device once it's in our possession." She wasn't trying to sound like a coward but there were only three of them left. If they had dozens of members like they had not just a few weeks ago it would be much easier to hide their cargo by letting it switch hands a few times.

"Our emerald amigo is right Lex." Jester agreed. "It's pretty stupid to go out of our way to piss off the Syndicate and risk certain death just so they can steal their trigger back in about ten minutes time."

"If you two would let me finish." Lex placed an odd looking device on the table. M'yri'ah recognized it as a dimensional transporter. "Once we secure the Quantum Trigger the Jester and I will go for help on another world."

"You mean recruit some help from another universe to protect the Quantum Trigger?" M'yri'ah asked.

"In a way yes." Lex said in his most patient voice possible. "I'll enlist some help so we can stop the Crime Syndicate once and for all. In the meantime we've got to get that trigger or there won't be anything to come back to. Medic, you will come back here and guard the tower after we are finished getting the trigger." Even with no one else here he was sure she could hold down the fort. There were plenty of defenses in the Watchtower until he and the Jester returned with help.

M'yri'ah nodded.

Luthor stood up. He needed to relay a lot of information to his teammates and time was of the essence. "Now, I'm only going to go over this once so please listen up." For once his old friend Jester stared at him with rapt attention. He tried to make his voice confident, but he really wasn't sure if they would be able to succeed.

* * *

Sometime later they found themselves pushing an old pipe valve open. After they were all three inside they stopped and listened for a moment. Luthor was the first to let out a sign. So far so good. They broke into the building without tripping any alarms.

The Jester, nimble as ever skipped ahead of them. Whatever gadget he had in his position allowed him to unlock the large steel doors almost as fast as they came upon them.

Lex hazarded a glance at Medic. She was looking so nervous still. He couldn't blame her. They put a lot of burden on her shoulders right now. She needed to be their muscle but she only had a few years of experience and most of that had been part time. She had been so busy healing the hurt and dying she hadn't been able to put near enough time into training simulations. "M'yri'ah." Luthor said, causing her to jump and look at him. "You'll do fine."

She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. "Thanks."

"Calm down green gal." The Jester teased, nudging her with his elbow. "It ain't like we're gonna die if you screw up."

After what seemed like forever the final door snapped open and there it was, the Quantum Trigger.

Lex snatched it up and an alarm went off overheard. The halls flashed a frightening red color. "We've been spotted."

"How could you tell?" The Jester rolled his eyes, sarcasm practically dripping from his voice.

The doors that they had gone through previously were starting to shut. "Sorry guys." Medic hefted her two friends up under her arms and shot off flying down the hall. Thankfully the doors were shutting and locking in sequence behind them rather than at the start of the hall where they came in at.

"Well, this is rather embarrassing." The Jester said, not used to being carried around.

"Sorry, this way is faster until we can get out of here." M'yri'ah could feel a sinister presence right behind her and it only pushed her to move forward faster.

Lex wordlessly let her drag the two of them along. Survival at this point was more important than looking dignified and running at a slower pace. Medic could also handle smaller spaces and tighter turns than his suit was capable of. This was the fastest way out.

They jerked forward when they felt M'yri'ah stopping. "What are you waiting for?" Jester asked before he and Lex were dropped unceremoniously onto the hard floor.

M'yri'ah felt herself being slammed to the ground and being dragged back by the foot.

"You're an awful long way away from home." A man's voice called behind her.

Medic felt one hand gripping at her arm, then the other. "Ah!" She let out a startled cry when yet another hand had the back of her head in its grasp, pressing her face into the hard floor. M'yri'ah couldn't see him, but she knew by feel alone that it was the Martian J'edd J'arkus. She knew she was lost. There was no way for the two of her friends to defeat someone like him. "Go ahead!"

The Jester wasn't about to give her up without a fight. "Let go of her gruesome." He tossed two smoking items out of his pocket.

When the pouches struck J'arkus, they made a horrible crackling sound on impact. It took him a second to comprehend what happened but when he did J'edd immediately released her and screamed in horror.

M'yri'ah slipped away from him to rejoin her friends. She never looked back. "What was that?"

"Dry ice." The Jester chuckled as he ran with his two remaining allies. "You can't stand fire, and you've lived in opposite land or whatever they call it. I thought I would try it out. It was Cold's idea, God rest his soul."

"Come on!" Lex wished they would shut up and stay focused until they got out. They were almost there. "There it is!" The hatch they were going to use as their exit into the sewers. Thank goodness, they all made it. He knew it was still too early but he almost felt giddy that they were still alive.

M'yri'ah lifted the heavy door open and was about to let the men go first.

"Ladies first." Lex shoved her out before him and then he landed beside her in the water below. When he didn't see the Jester he looked up above them and saw his friend hesitating. "What are you doing?! Get down here now!" He felt dread go up his spine.

The Jester flinched and jerked his head around like he might have seen or heard something close by. He then looked down at the two of them, his confident smile back in place. "Oh yeah, like I'm going to let you and the doctor take all the glory." The Jester said. "Now get out of here."

"No!" Lex called up at him.

"Goodbye Lex." The Jester closed the lid with a heavy clunk. And that was that.

Medic grabbed his arm. "Lex, we have to go."

With a final look up he closed his eyes. "You're right. Let's get out of here."

They ran through the sewers as quickly as they could until he was sure they were far enough away from the building. Lex blasted off the manhole cover over their heads. They needed to get above ground. Goodness knows where they were going to end up when they traveled to the next universe but he didn't need to arrive there buried six feet under. He used his suit to zip him up to street level.

Medic was right behind him, hoping in a single leap to the surface and touching down.

They both flinched when an explosion rocketed through the building behind them in the distance.

"Oh God." Medic breathed, watching as fire consumed the skyscraper.

"I can't believe it." Lex couldn't believe the Jester was really gone. His oldest ally was gone. "It won't be for nothing." He said more to himself. "I won't let your sacrifice be in vain." He shook it off. He would have time to grieve later. Right now he had a mission to complete.

"Lex," Medic knew they couldn't waste any more time. "I'll go to the tower now, just like we planned."

Just when it looked like she was going to take off he grabbed her arm. "No! You'll come with me!"

She was startled by how quickly he grabbed her. "But the plan…"

"That plan included having the Jester with me. I need you." The Watchtower could wait. Besides, she would probably be more useful with him than here if he did enough research.

"Okay." M'yri'ah nodded. In all honesty, she was relieved. She hadn't really wanted to stay here in this world, waiting and hoping that Lex would return with the cavalry before the Syndicate found her.

"Let's get the hell out of here." Lex led the way and she followed. They barely made it out of the alley when they both stopped short. A wall of five super villains blocked their path. It was Owlman, Superwoman, Ultraman, Johnny Quick and Power Ring. Lex let a curse fly out of his mouth.

"I think you have something that doesn't belong to you." Ultraman was the first to stop advancing on them.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Lex's hand was already in his pocket, pulling out the dimensional travel device. Everyone but Owlman hadn't seemed to notice it yet. Lex pulled Medic behind him as a show of bravery, in reality he was just trying to hold onto her so he didn't accidentally leave her behind when he made the jump. If he left her here there wouldn't be anything left of her when he returned.

Medic gasped behind him and Lex heard someone touch down some ways away. They were now surrounded.

"Good to see you could make it J'arkus." Power Ring greeted.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world." The Martian said dispassionately. Only by some miracle did he make it out of the building before it went up.

M'yri'ah finally saw J'edd Jarkus, her husband's counterpart. He was standing several paces away and looked rather angry that someone had blown up his building. She had never met him in his true form before, but he looked grotesque in a comical way. He had four long arms, what looked to be two chests and a mouth that was permanently gaping. He had the look of an idiot.

J'edd of course, heard her unflattering thoughts about him. "Aw, that's not very nice." He moved towards her and Lex.

"Just hand it over." Superwoman's voice sounded bored. "And we'll make it quick."

"I don't think so." Lex thumbed the button on his dimensional device and they were gone.

* * *

Lex and M'yri'ah appeared in the middle of a street, just outside the alley way where they had left their own world behind.

They heard a horn sound and just when they looked up a gold tinted dome of light rushed up around them. A car slammed hard into the barrier with a bang and it startled them both. Lex was the first to recover. "Hello." He greeted the man in the wrecked car in front of them. "Do you know where the nearest police station is?"

The stunned man could only point them in the general direction with his finger.

"Thank you." Lex was polite as he could be as he stepped onto the sidewalk with Medic in tow. She was still blinking and rubbing her eyes after the jump.

"Now what?" M'yri'ah asked when she finally felt normal again.

"Now we need to get this world's Justice League's attention. They are pretty famous here, unlike on our Earth." The governments wouldn't even recognize the Crime Syndicate's existence in their world so it went without saying that they would never mention the Justice League either.

Speaking of which, there was a wall of pictures dedicated to the League just on the side of the building they were walking beside. "Look at this." Medic pointed at an array of pages.

"What did I tell you?" Luthor pulled a propaganda poster off the brick wall. There were big letters in an arch stating "Justice League: Friend or Foe?" right over the top of seven superheroes. "He look familiar to you?" He handed her the paper to examine.

There were several heroic features on the print. To the far right there was a male green Martian that went by name Martian Manhunter. She would know him anywhere. "That is my husband J'onn." Her heart skipped a beat. So he was alive in this world?

"I knew it." Lex seemed quite pleased with himself.

"You knew he was here?" M'yri'ah asked, lowering the page to look at her friend.

"Well, it was more of a hunch." Lex said. "I've been trying to find a universe with superheroes powerful enough to help us. You've talked about J'onn before and how he was a Manhunter." She had explained once that a Manhunter was the Martian equivalent of a police officer or a detective. "I read about him from this world I thought I would give it a shot. If he knows you he will be more likely to help." He had originally planned on leaving M'yri'ah in their world, not only to guard the tower but also because if she were there J'onn would be more likely to go with Lex to see her. However, he was sure that bringing her here with him would be incentive enough for J'onn to help.

"J'onn might not know me." M'yri'ah pointed out. "Or I might exist here already and he won't want to help his wife's doppelganger."

"No, he is the last Martian. I am sure of it." Lex assured her. The worst that could happen is J'onn not knowing her.

"Even if J'onn does help that doesn't mean the others will help us." M'yri'ah hated to sound so pessimistic but someone had to be the voice of reason.

"If they are anything like our Justice League they will help. We never let one of our own go at it alone."

He had a point. "True."

"Now we need to get their attention." Lex once again began walking towards the station ahead.

"You mean like go on a rampage downtown?" She joked.

"Well, I thought we might turn ourselves in." He laughed at that. "We'll need to talk to them. I've done a little research obviously. I think my presence alone will be enough for Superman to pay us a visit. I am his nemesis here. What about your husband? Does he have any enemies?" Maybe if she transformed herself into a villain Manhunter was familiar with he would come to help collect them.

"J'onn died back on Mars Lex. I don't know anyone that would be alive here on Earth that he would know." M'yri'ah said.

There must be someone she knew that her husband wasn't fond of. "Well, was there a particularly bad person on Mars that might get his attention?"

"Yes, there is one." M'yri'ah said. "His name was Ma'alefa'ak."

"Then disguise yourself as him and let's go."

M'yri'ah's visage turned into that of a man. She looked very much like her husband, but she looked crueler and wore a ragged looking high collared cape that obscured her face. "I hope he doesn't kill me before we can talk to him." Ma'alefa'ak's body said in M'yri'ah's voice.

"We'll be fine." Luthor said, pointing to the precinct just ahead. "We just need to go inside. The League won't just murder us in cold blood with witnesses and cameras."

"You're right." M'yri'ah's voice became masculine. "Here we go." When they arrived she pushed the front door open and let Lex lead the way.

They came upon a desk clerk who was busy writing on his newspaper. Lex rested his hands on the counter and leaned in. "Excuse me."

The man made a dismissive gesture at Lex. "Wait a second. I'm doing the crosswords."

How rude! Lex decided to speak anyway. "Hello, my name is Lex Luthor and I'd like to turn myself in."

The officer looked up, looking quite alarmed before he jumped out of his chair and aimed a gun at Lex. His hands were trembling so badly it was a wonder his gun didn't go off on accident.

"Would you please contact the Justice League?" Lex nudged the green man standing next to him before raising his arms up in the air.

"Uh, yes." M'yri'ah held up her hands in surrender as well. "Please tell Manhunter that his brother says hello."

* * *

**Author's weird rambling notes: While this story is based on the movie: Crisis on Two Earths obviously things will be very different with the addition of M'yri'ah and with J'edd living. The focus will mainly be on J'onn and his role and there will be more additions to the story line so I can branch out and do my own thing. I'm going to try my best to write what needs to be written so people who have not seen the movie will know what is happening (I'll try not to be lazy). **

**There will also be hints of his story from the comics. I loved the scene J'onn showed Clark in Injustice so I'll hopefully get to use that at some point. Manhunter's origin seems to have changed like a thousand times so it's hard to keep up with it all. **

**Events will happen out of sequence from the movie at times and while I want to stay somewhat true to the movie scenes I will be using, I'm going to do my level best not to stick completely to the script so it doesn't get too boring.**


	2. Chapter 2

Superman, Flash and Manhunter were called down from the watch tower to collect a couple supervillains from the local police station in Metropolis. It was a usual situation for them. Normally they were the ones handing over defeated mad men over to the local authorities, not the other way around.

Superman cast a sidelong glance at Manhunter. Lex Luthor was there with a friend he had never heard of. He still didn't know much about who Ma'alefa'ak was, only that J'onn had grown oddly quiet after they received the call. "Are you going to be alright?" J'onn really never talked much about what happened to him on Mars. He never even mentioned a brother, but apparently there was bad blood between the two of them.

"Yes, I'll be fine." J'onn assured him.

"Your heart is beating really fast." Clark mentioned.

That's because if Ma'alefa'ak was still alive he wanted nothing more than to kill him. But he had taken an oath when he joined the Justice League. He would not kill Ma'alefa'ak even if he might deserve it. "I'll be fine Clark. I promise."

"Alright." Clark pushed the door open. "Let's see what we've got."

Barry let out a sharp gasp and obscured his face.

"Oh Lord." Clark's nose wrinkled. Luthor was reading a newspaper in one chair completely naked, all his armor sitting atop a small desk. A green Martian sat next to him, looking nonplused at his friend's state of undress.

"And they call me he Flash." Barry made a face and looked away.

J'onn stared at the person claiming to be his brother. Ma'alefa'ak had his arms folded over his chest, his leg crossed at the knee as he sat next to Luthor. He looked so placid, nothing of the mocking bastard he knew him to be. Ma'alefa'ak had even allowed himself to be shackled to the chair he was sitting on, which was odd considering he couldn't be held by such things.

"Hello my friends." Luthor looked up from his paper, folding it neatly and putting it on the table in front of him. "I think you can do away with that disguise now my dear." Luthor took note of Manhunter's intense gaze and didn't want to risk his friend's life for their ruse anymore.

J'onn watched as Ma'alefa'ak's body melted into a more feminine shape. The chains fell away, having been big enough to hold a man they easily slipped off her more dainty wrists and legs. She was a Martian of course. She had light green skin and odd looking eyes that were shaped like a human's but were black where there should be white and a golden red iris. Her eyes made her look a little severe but she had a kind enough face that negated most of their harshness. She rounded her head out like a human and wore her stark white hair in short curls. Her hair almost reminded him of women's hairstyles back when he first arrived on earth in the 50s. She had never taken this form before, but he knew now that he was looking at his wife M'yri'ah. He took a sharp intake of breath.

"Sorry about that." M'yri'ah apologized to him, looking rather contrite. "Luther asked me to change into someone that would get your attention."

"Yes well, congratulations on your success." J'onn said, still shocked to see her. She could have just come as herself. That would have gotten plenty of his attention.

"Please," Luthor took center stage, not very difficult since he was nude. "We need your help."

J'onn could tell M'yri'ah was rather embarrassed of Luthor's state of undress now that he put the paper down. She understood that he was trying to look harmless but she thought it was a bit much. For the most part she just looked at her husband, not saying anything and trying to process him being there at all.

Luthor explained that they were from another universe and that they had come seeking the Justice League's help. It didn't take long to convince Superman that they were from another world, who easily checked that their Luthor was still safely in prison. Lex, not believing his luck, thought the Justice League had already agreed to help. Superman stopped him, needing to consult with the other League members. But first... "Please put some clothes on Luthor."

"I told you it would be weird." M'yri'ah leaned over and told him.

* * *

They were invited into a conference room, not unlike the one in the Watchtower in their own world. The table was round and had seven chairs in a circle. One was strangely empty. M'yri'ah stayed off to the side of the room and let Lex do the talking. She was sure with that silver tongue of his that he could convince them to help. He had only just finished explaining that they were the last two surviving members of their world's Justice League when he turned to her.

"You all seem to know me but you probably don't know my friend here." Lex introduced her. "This is M'yri'ah J'onzz, or Medic as we like to call her in the field."

"Martian Medic?" Superman asked.

"Yeah, no. Just Medic." M'yri'ah corrected him.

"She doesn't seem to be from your world Luthor." Clark observed. Luthor came from a parallel earth where everyone's heart was on the right side of their body. It was like looking in a mirror. When he looked at M'yri'ah everything was where it should be just as J'onn's insides looked. Then again she was a Martian so she could change her anatomy to blend in if she wanted.

"That is correct." Lex nodded. "Several years ago I came upon an Earth with only M'yri'ah on it. The Justice League had been defeated there as well. Even during that time I've had issues filling our ranks." The Crime Syndicate was incredibly powerful and death was a reality. "I've looked on other Earths to recruit from in past. When I found M'yri'ah she had nowhere else to go so I took her aboard."

"He saved my life." M'yri'ah tried to talk him up. Heavens knew from the look on their faces they didn't trust him. Hell, she barely trusted him when he appeared to her the first time. "Darkseid had leveled the Earth. I was the only one left. I would have died if he hadn't rescued me."

Lex seemed pleased with her well timed compliment. "M'yri'ah was the Justice League's doctor until recently."

"Was?" Bruce asked.

"Well, since there were so few of us she's had to take on a more combative role." Luthor explained.

"It's pretty embarrassing." M'yri'ah admitted. "I'm not very good in a fight."

"I'm sure you do fine." J'onn told her.

"Is she your sister J'onn?" Diana wondered. "You have the same last name. Or was it a common name?

J'onn only realized now that he had never told them his wife's name or really talked about her. It had simply been too painful to recall.

J'onn hesitated so long that M'yri'ah decided to offer up the information. "J'onn is... well, he was my husband in my world."

J'onn suddenly felt everyone's eyes on him.

"You've never mentioned her before." Diana said, sounding surprised.

"Really? M'yri'ah talks about J'onn all the time." Luthor said, looking a little upset that maybe one of the aces up his sleeve wouldn't work in this case. "I suppose he and M'yri'ah never met in this world." He spared a brief sympathetic glance at his friend.

J'onn was about to protest but Luthor went on.

"Yes well, now that introductions are out of the way." Lex continued, not really wanting to linger on the issue any longer. "Down to business."

M'yri'ah focused on the meeting as best she could, listening as Luthor explained their situation in simple and easy terms. She began to feel a sort of warm reassuring buzzing in her mind and she had to close her eyes for a moment to brush it off.

She tried not to keep stealing glances at J'onn, but he was sitting directly in front of her so it made it difficult to resist the temptation. When she finally met his gaze she realized he was staring at her unabashedly. He seemed to have more than enough focus to listen perfectly to Luthor's pitch and every mind around him as he watched her.

It was a pity he hadn't still been alive in her world. Maybe things would not have turned out like they did. He was so very talented and would have made an excellent member of the Justice League she had been a part of. He had something to offer. She felt often times she was just there because she had J'onn's abilities, but none of his wits or skill. Her role had been that of a medic during the war so long ago. So she thought more in terms of healing rather than fighting. Maybe if she were more like J'onn things would have turned out differently. Maybe her friends would still be alive.

Well, that and she missed J'onn terribly. He had been the love of her life and the father of her only child. They died in the war and then the plague came and then everyone else was gone.

She finally ended her stare off with J'onn and tried to focus back on Luthor. She felt a bit rude now for ignoring him the entire time. At least she had heard this all before, having listened to his plans before he sought out the Justice League from this world.

J'onn presence was rather intimidating. Since Martians did not age physically it was often times difficult for people around them to know how old they were. Other Martians on the other hand could get a sense for how old someone was just by feel alone. He had always been older than her but he seemed so ancient to her now. She wondered if this is what it felt like to meet a dragon.

J'onn made a barely audible sound of amusement. She was sure that only she and Superman seemed to hear him. Clark looked over at J'onn that moment as well, confused as to what he found so funny when everything seemed so grim. Obviously J'onn was listening in on what she was thinking.

When Luthor was finished with his pitch J'onn was the first to stand up to see them out. "We have to discuss this first." He was about to move to M'yri'ah but Lex got there first.

"Of course." Luthor sounded very humble indeed, knowing that League here was really their last hope to defeat the Crime Syndicate. "My dear." He took M'yri'ah's arm and led her out of the room as Justice League considered if they wanted to help them or not.

"Please wait here." J'onn looked at them briefly before he closed the door.

When Luthor was sure they were alone he indicated to her that he wanted to speak with her in her mind. _"You weren't paying attention."_ He thought.

_"Sorry."_ She apologized. _"I was a little distracted."_

"_I don't think I need to remind you about how important that was."_ He sighed.

_"Sorry._" She said again.

_"It's alright, just don't do it again."_ He had lost so many old friends. M'yri'ah wasn't part of his original band but she had come at an important juncture and always stood by the Justice League no matter what. _"I need all your focus right now. It's just you and me, remember that."_

She nodded and watched as he pulled the Quantum Trigger out of his pocket. He quickly tossed it behind a generator. She gasped, looking alarmed. _"Do you think that's wise? If they see you do that they might not trust us."_ She wondered why he didn't just give it to them for safe keeping while they were on their mission.

_"It's not something anyone should know about."_ Luthor thought. _"When this is over we'll need to retrieve it. At least if we fail the Crime Syndicate can't get to it."_

She really wished she didn't know what he had done now. _"J'onn could read my mind you know, and find out about it easily."_ She thought. _"He could even read yours."_

Luthor wasn't sure how she would take this, but he needed to say it. _"That's why I need you to keep him distracted until we leave."_

_"Distracted?"_ She blushed.

_"Please M'yri'ah."_ Luthor thought, sounding like the Luthor she knew from her old world. "_I think you can guess what I'm talking about._" When Luthor questioned J'onn's love for her he predictably gave away his feelings. Luther's ace was back again. He was sure that even if no one else would go with them, J'onn wouldn't allow Luthor to leave with her without offering his help.

_"I suppose_." M'yri'ah knew it wouldn't work, but she didn't know how to explain that to Luthor. The closer they were together the harder it would be to hide. They would have had an easier time hiding the device if J'onn wasn't connected to her at all. At least he wouldn't be suspicious of her guarding her thoughts from him, if she even could. She also hated to lie to him. She didn't want to betray his trust.

Lex could easily see the conflict on her face. "_You know I wouldn't ask you to do this unless it was dire. You know what that device can do."_

M'yri'ah nodded. "_I know._" Underneath all his manipulations she at least knew he was a good man. It was the only reason she stood by him for so many years.

_"I know what he means to you M'yri'ah. I'm sorry."_ Lex tried to insert a little optimism into the conversation. "_Maybe after this whole mess is over he'll come and stay with us._" Which was preferable to her going to stay with him. Without her he had no one.

_"If he'll even have me after this."_

"_Okay, that's enough of that. It doesn't take a mind reader to see you are feeling guilty. Try to smile a little._" He watched as she took a breath and smiled halfheartedly. "_That's better_."

The door swished open, and M'yri'ah jumped. Luthor's confident smile was ever present as he looked expectantly at the League members.

"We have agreed to help you." Superman said, although he looked like he wanted to say more he kept his mouth shut.

"Thank you." Lex looked so grateful. "We can leave immediately."

"Wait." J'onn interrupted his enthusiasm. He looked directly at M'yri'ah. "I need to speak with you alone first."

"Speak with me?" Her voice broke.

"I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation." Luthor sounded upset, feeling time was of the essence. Not to mention the longer they waited here the more likely that the Quantum Trigger he hid would be noticed. He looked to other members of the League to agree with him.

"I have not seen my wife in centuries. It will not hurt you to wait a few moments more." J'onn told Luthor before turning to M'yri'ah. He held out his hand to her. "Come with me."

M'yri'ah glanced at Luthor, he didn't look very happy. She reached out a shaking hand and J'onn took it in his firm grasp, leading her away. When they entered a hallway she had to ask. "Where are we going?"

"My quarters." He said, lacing his fingers with hers.

"Oh." He was being quite forward with her. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to distract him after all. She was plenty distracted herself.

He led her into his room. The door snapped shut behind the two of them and he released her hand so he could press the button to lock the door.

M'yri'ah's hands moved forward to clasp each other nervously. She could hardly look at him.

"M'yri'ah." He said her name, causing her to look up at him momentarily before he eyes darted away. He pushed a button on his window and the clear glass fogged over. When he finally was sure they were alone he put his hands on her shoulders and let them drop down her arms, as if he were testing to see if she was really there. "You're trembling" He said softly, trying to calm her with his voice. "Are you afraid?" He wanted to hold her to him right away, even when he first saw her but she seemed so nervous, he hadn't wanted to overwhelm her.

Yes, is what she wanted to say. "No." She lied.

J'onn thought maybe not mentioning what he knew would put her at ease, but he thought wrong. "I know about the device Luthor hid."

M'yri'ah stared at the floor, feeling ashamed of herself. "I see." She knew she wouldn't be able to hide it.

"It helps if you don't openly discuss such things in the hallway." J'onn seemed amused. "Even if it's just in your thoughts."

M'yri'ah rubbed her hand across her face in embarrassment. Of course he could hear them.

"I'll keep your secret." J'onn assured her. If he thought it might cause an issue he would have brought it to the League's attention right away. "It's not important. I just wish he felt he could trust us with it."

She played with her hands nervously. "He's afraid if you know about the Quantum Trigger that it will make it more vulnerable."

"Yes I know."

"Of course you do." She felt silly for explaining it to him. He would already know. "I'm sorry." She could hardly meet his gaze. "Please don't be angry."

A gentle smile touched his lips at her nervous behavior. "Please, do not worry M'yri'ah. I could never be mad at you."

Only then did she finally really look him in the eyes. "Thank you."

"I can't believe it's really you." He said, changing the subject. He squeezed her arm gently.

"Yes. It's me." She felt so nervous still, but she wasn't sure why. Maybe because she tried to lie to him? That was probably it.

"I had almost forgotten the sound of your voice." He said, his fingertips grazing her jawline. "The feel of your skin."

M'yri'ah was surprised when he took her face in his hands and really looked at her, trying to delve into her. When she realized what he was doing she balked at him. The last time they had been together he had been so worried about the plague he wouldn't allow her to connect with him in this way. "Do you think it's safe?"

"Yes." J'onn was surprised she thought he would risk her wellbeing, but he could understand her hesitation after what they've been through. "It's just you and I now."

"If you are sure." Her golden eyes began to glow to match his red stare. She reached up to take his face between her hands. She felt his mind overtake hers so quickly that she let out a startled breath.

How wonderful it was to share his mind with her again. Where he didn't have to read her, she merely needed to think and it was as if he had the thought as well. Her presence inside him was so gentle, he could feel her warmth wash over him.

"J'onn," She said, it was so simple but it resonated within his whole being. "I love you."

"And I love you." He said, finally embracing her. "It's been so long." Ever since the day she and their daughter died he never felt complete again. "How I've missed you." He rubbed a thumb across the back of her neck. The only thing that would make this moment perfect is if K'hym were here too, but he would not take this miracle for granted.

"And I've missed you." She pulled his head down, surprising him with her strength.

He was shocked when she kissed him. She had always been so shy, and for the most part he initiated their kisses together. He found himself closing his eyes and returning her affections. She was so sweet, like chocolate. He wondered why.

"I ate some chocolate before at the precinct." M'yri'ah said, laughing at his curiosity. Her memory of her time there surfaced in J'onn's mind. M'yri'ah had frightened one of the secretaries when she grabbed a few chocolates from her candy dish before being escorted into the interrogation room. "I was a little nervous that you wouldn't agree to help us."

Back when she had disguised herself as his brother. He thought.

"Sorry again." She said, releasing his neck and allowing him to stand fully upright. "About that."

"You like to apologize a lot." He pointed out.

"I have a lot to be sorry about I think." She teased. "We should probably go back." She said. "Lex will probably be upset with me for taking up so much of your time."

"I don't really care what he thinks." He ran his hand across her face. As much as he wanted to continue this he couldn't make his friends wait any longer. "But I understand. Let's go."

* * *

**Author's notes: The next few chapters might be slow coming. I really wanted to get this second up and introduce J'onn before I took my time with the next few. **


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note: I had to edit the last chapter. I just had to do it. I know in the movie that J'onn doesn't know what a kiss is but my God, I just couldn't keep that in my story. I took it out and I'm taking any mention of that out in later chapters to help explain it. In the comics J'onn's has kissed women before. In the JL cartoon M'yri'ah ran over and kissed him in his delusions of her. Even if the two of them never kissed and it wasn't a Martian thing, he has lived on the earth since the 1950s, J'onn loves TV and people watching but for some reason he has never seen someone kiss before? I just couldn't. Now back to our regularly scheduled program._

* * *

When M'yri'ah and J'onn reappeared in the main entryway Lex gave her a look. She wasn't sure if he was upset that she took so long or if he was wondering if everything was still alright. She tried to reassure him with her smile that everything went well.

Superman was talking with Batman quietly off to the side of the group. They were having a discussion about him coming along with them. Bruce crossed his arms finally, trying to show with his body language that he had made up his mind. He would send them off but he wasn't going to go with them.

"Okay, now that we are all here." Lex took out his dimensional device and began scrolling through the screen to return to his earth. "Let's get going. We'll need to head to the Watchtower first. From there we can make a plan of attack."

"It messes with your eyes," M'yri'ah wanted to warn J'onn before they left. "You may see colors until you blink a few times."

"Hm, I didn't know the jump affected Martians that way." Lex said absently, just now realizing how long it took her to recover from their ride earlier. "I'll have to make a note of it in my log." Part of him was fascinated by this new discovery but he was so busy trying to get the coordinates just right. He shouldn't give their minor symptoms too much thought right now. He gestured to everyone to squeeze in tighter until the cool glow of the dimensional device surrounded them. "This might be a little disorienting."

Everyone felt they were being pulled in several directions at once.

J'onn gasped, this was not completely unlike the sensation he felt when he was pulled through space and time to Dr. Erdel's lab when he first came to Earth. Thankfully the horrible tearing sensation was absent from this particular ride. M'yri'ah had been right, as he was being pulled apart and reformed he could see a rainbow of colors behind his lids. He blinked rapidly and his vision cleared in enough time to see that the Watchtower was infested with enemies.

"We've been compromised." Luthor announced at seeing dozens of the Crime Syndicate's men swarming the station. Owlman and Superwoman were standing near his computer, looking surprised to see him return so suddenly. He was glad he brought Medic with him now instead of insisting she head to their base. If he had left her alone here in the Watchtower she would likely have been dead by the time he returned.

"Really?" Barry asked sarcastically. "What was your first clue?"

Lex ignored him, taking aim and sending a blast through the rogues to scatter them. As much as he hated to do it he sent a beam of energy through his computer. They couldn't get the information contained on it or the Quantum Trigger might not be safe after all.

Wonder Woman went after Owlman. He reminded her of Bruce, and while incredibly smart and skilled she thought maybe, just maybe he wouldn't be that difficult to take on. How wrong she was. When she got in close with Owlman, she realized he was wearing a mechanical exoskeleton that enhanced his strength, much like the one Lex wore. She gasped when he brought her to her knees.

Lex was about to aim at Owlman while he was distracted. He hated fighting so dirty, but Owlman was the brains of the Crime Syndicate and if he could take him down they would have a better chance to win the war. Lex suddenly felt a horrible sensation rip through his chest and his eyes went wide. "Ugh!" He looked behind him and saw a woman with her arm elbow deep in his back.

"Lex!" M'yri'ah was about to rush to his aid, but J'onn got there first, pulling the Gypsy Woman's hand out of Lex's chest. J'onn said something to the woman in a chastising tone before tossing her like one might a used rag. He felt a bit strange fighting her, her counterpart had been his friend in his world.

Lex coughed deeply, trying to recover from someone reaching into his body. The Tower was so overrun, he really wasn't sure they could take it back. He saw M'yri'ah engaging a woman in a cat mask across the crowd and called out to her. "Medic, grab anything you need and get the hell out."

"Okay!" M'yri'ah yelled over the commotion. She flew down the hall before she sank through the floor to go to the hospital below.

J'onn was about to follow after her but a man wearing a ridiculous looking disco uniform jumped in his path. His first thought was just to rush through him, but he stopped himself. He was needed here. M'yri'ah would be fine without him, he was sure.

M'yri'ah found herself in the middle of yet more chaos when she landed in the infirmary. Her eyes narrowed in on four lower level thugs Superwoman and Owlman brought with them. They had looted her hospital and were on their way out, already having smashed through the doors and stole all the drugs of interest from the medical cabinets.

"Look!" One of them called, finally seeing her hovering there above the floor.

Deep down she knew that everything was already over and this place was lost. There were more important rooms being ransacked and destroyed upstairs but there was something about them going through this place of healing that enraged her. She began sucking in a great lungful of air and then released it back out with an almost hurricane like force.

The winds sent two of them sailing through the door and knocking them out cold against the metal halls. One man had managed to duck into a closet before she blew his other friends away. The other had disappeared entirely. "Get out of my hospital!" She roared at him.

M'yri'ah felt herself being hauled backwards. Whoever got ahold of her was strong, but not strong enough. She flipped him over her shoulder and he tumbled onto the floor. He just managed to roll away before she put her boot down on him. He retreated for a moment before he thought better of it and came back at her. His friend from the medicine closet rushed out to join him.

"Where are you?!" She heard Lex yell into her comlink.

"I got tied up." She launched herself at the two men, hammering her fist into the strong one's face and sending him skidding across the ER floor. She grabbed his weaker friend by the collar and sent him sailing into him as he tried to stand up.

Lex made a noise of impatience. "Well get the hell out! Made Men are on their way."

Damn it. She didn't have time to get anything at all. M'yri'ah went intangible and sent herself down through the floor as fast as she could. The Tower was huge, floor after floor zoomed past until she went through the Watchtower's underbelly.

When she finally emerged she could see the sun peeking out from the clouds. The way the sky brightened on the horizon she could tell it was morning. And just as soon as she saw the sun appear, it was blotted out. Wind and rain burst forth from the sky, pouring down from above and side to side. The Made Men were on their way.

"M'yri'ah!" J'onn shouted, trying to get her attention above the storm. He was there with the others some distance away. He looked relieved to see her.

"There you are!" Luthor yelled over the sound of the wind rushing by.

M'yri'ah could hear Lex again on her comlink, it looked like there was some delay. It was disorienting. "I couldn't get anything." She shouted right back.

"Just as long as you're okay that's all that matters." Luthor assured. "If we get separated we'll be meeting back at the Jester's headquarters."

She gave him a thumbs up so he knew she heard him. "Okay."

"Try to stay alive until then." Lex wasn't really looking at her anymore. His focus was on the horizon and what was coming.

"I'll do my best." She felt a strong hand grab her ankle. It was the oldest of the Made Men. He looked like he was about to pull her into him with his other hand when she grit her teeth. "Oh no you don't!" She swung herself around, using the momentum to hurtle him away from her. He didn't bother with her long and went off to torment someone else.

J'onn was busy trying to help Superman. Superwoman and her thugs were swarming him. Diana pulled one of them off Superman and J'onn the other. J'onn grunted as he took a shot to the stomach. They sure hit hard, but that was okay, he could hit harder. His fist swung around and sent the middle aged man into a tailspin.

Diana swung the youngest at J'onn in a well-timed move. He brought his knee up, catching him into the face and launching him into the sky. Hal was there waiting for him and brought down a literal hammer on his head.

The Made Men scattered and reformed together in the distance to strengthen the storm.

"Light 'em up!" Superwoman called to her teammates.

J'onn shuddered as he felt electricity tear through him. Well, not him. M'yri'ah's thoughts suddenly went from very focused to a standstill. He glanced around and found her tumbling limply as she fell from the sky.

M'yri'ah blinked a few times, trying to wake herself up. An arch of lightning struck her, not surprising since the sky was saturated by bolts of electricity. She took a nosedive. She could hear Lex talking through her communicator about a jet but her brain was trying to shut down to recover so it was hard to focus. She struggled to fight against unconsciousness but it was a battle she felt she was going to lose.

J'onn caught her before she fell through the clouds below, taking her back up into the sky with him. "Are you alright? Can you still fight?" He called out over the howling winds and rain.

M'yri'ah shook her head to clear it. She could hear J'onn's heart beating so fast in her mind. Despite his calm voice he was worried about her. She felt her mind begin to focus again. "Yes."

"Be more careful." J'onn warned, releasing her to the air when he was sure she could fly again on her own.

M'yri'ah noticed from then on he didn't stray too far from her side. It was a good thing too, the Made Men were not playing around and she hadn't been trained on how to deal with them. Sure, she could hammer them with her fists, but they weren't staying down and she wasn't strong enough to knock them away like J'onn could.

M'yri'ah was pretty embarrassed. She felt that she was watching J'onn's back for the most part while he dealt with whoever was in front of him. He would then have to turn around and take on whoever she was fighting. She supposed it helped though. At least they couldn't sneak up and overwhelm him.

"Your ride is here." Luthor said over the comlink. "We're right over Superman."

M'yri'ah felt herself being dragged backward, J'onn had grabbed her hand and rushed to meet up with the rest of the Justice League. They all held in formation as a hatch opened up in the middle of the air. It looked like someone had stolen Owlman's invisible jet. When the hatch snapped closed below their feet they all touched down on the floor. The jet gained speed and they all had to brace themselves to keep from falling over. J'onn was still holding her hand tightly and waited while everyone went in front of them. Only when everyone else had gone through to the main cabin did he bring up the rear.

"That was close." Barry said to all of them, he sounded quite happy to have his feet on solid ground. Falling through the air wasn't the most pleasant experience.

"I'm glad we could all make it." Lex sounded relieved after he did a headcount. "I still need access to my information on the network. We'll need to make a stop somewhere so we can make a plan of attack."

While Lex discussed their next move J'onn wordlessly wrapped his hand around her shoulder. She had almost forgotten how big his hands were, it pushed her arm down slightly with the weight of it. J'onn hadn't always been one for public displays of affection but it seemed like he had outgrown that.

At first J'onn listened to Luthor in silence. When it seemed he was finished and the others began chatting J'onn looked down at her. "Thank you for having my back." He said finally. "It was just like old times." Back during the war.

"Yes it was." She rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes.

He moved his arm up around her back and held her to him. He couldn't wait for this mission to be over, when he could have longer than a few stolen moments with her at a time.

* * *

Lex led them to what appeared to be a garage or storage locker. "Here it is." He opened the storage gate and waited while everyone walked inside before closing the door behind them. "We are lucky there is anywhere left to hide."

"We aren't here to hide Lex." Superman said.

J'onn looked around the Jester's safe house. It invoked revulsion in him, reminding him of one of Batman's foes. There were giant jack in the boxes and other clown like memorabilia strewn about. His fellow Justice League members felt the same way, but when he heard M'yri'ah's thoughts they were ones of sadness and loss.

The man who was the Jester saved her twice right before he died. She also felt sorry for Lex. He had lost his oldest and dearest friend, and she knew what it was like to lose someone she cared about. J'onn could feel through her, Lex's melancholy as he and the Justice League made their way to the main computer to access his files. The Jester was gone, and he would never see him again.

A small pet monkey jumped on the computer pad and squeaked at Lex in greeting. Another wave of sadness assaulted him. M'yri'ah seemed to sense Lex's emotions deeply enough to pass them along to J'onn. It was curious.

After bringing up dossiers of the Crime Syndicate members on the main screen, Lex tried to explain to his guests how the crime families were set up and how strong the Syndicate was. He tried to impress upon them how they would all need to go together to defeat them and plan attacks to take them down one at a time.

J'onn knew Luthor had no idea what this world's Justice League was capable of and they were going to lose time if they did it his way. He saw Superman open his mouth to speak. Clark was going to explain what they needed to do, but his dislike for Luthor was going to make him sound tactless. It was a pity. Clark was a great motivational speaker on most occasions.

"That's a waste of time." Superman blurted, just as J'onn knew he would. "We are going to hit them in teams of two and three. Lex, you and I will take on Ultraman." He outlined who would go where, all in groups of two until he got to the end and announced there would be three members for the final strike. "I think J'onn, Flash and M'yri'ah should go to the docks together as the final team."

Lex couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But they wiped out my Justice League in a matter of days. You don't know what they are capable of."

"We aren't your Justice League." Superman said, matter-of-factly. "We can take them. Don't worry." He added, trying to sound nicer when Wonder Woman gave him a look.

"If you insist on this foolhardy venture then I believe we should take M'yri'ah with us." Lex said. "I'll need her to help take down Ultraman."

"Well I think she should go with J'onn and Flash." Superman insisted.

M'yri'ah could tell by the look on Lex's face that he was starting to get aggravated. He was the leader of the Justice League in this world and yet their guests didn't really listen to him or his opinions. They didn't treat him quite like the criminal of their world but they weren't being very respectful either.

"And why is that?" Lex asked in a patient voice.

"He hasn't seen M'yri'ah in a long time. He'd probably like to spend some time with her." Clark reasoned. Plus he would probably like to keep an eye on her as well.

"This is a mission, not a social visit." Lex was trying very hard to remain composed.

"I think Superman's just worried if he is busy protecting you he won't really have time to protect M'yri'ah too." The Flash reasoned. "J'onn and I can do that."

"Exactly." Superman knew someone would get it.

"Flash! Superman!" Diana scolded. She knew they were trying to be helpful but they were talking about Lex and M'yri'ah like they were liabilities rather than a help. "You are being rude."

"What? It's true." The Flash quipped. "Besides, J'onn probably cares if his wife gets zapped by heat vision. Do you?"

Lex was furious that Flash called into question him valuing the lives of his fellow Justice League members, especially now on the back of losing his best friend. "If he cares about her so much why was yesterday the first time you've heard of her?" He took a startled breath after he realized what he said. The moment the words left his mouth he regretted them. "I'm sorry M'yri'ah, I shouldn't have said that."

The words stung but M'yri'ah knew he was just lashing out because he was upset. "You don't have to be sorry. It's okay."

"No it's not." Flash said. "He shouldn't speak to you that way."

"In what way?" M'yri'ah wondered and then she realized it didn't really even matter. "You all can do what you like." M'yri'ah interrupted before they began arguing again. "Lex, you are my leader. I'll go where you tell me to go."

Luthor wanted to say that he wanted her to go with him. He wanted someone by his side that trusted him and would help him clean up this mess when everything was over. But if he thought about it, if he really thought about it he knew she shouldn't go with them. Yes she was strong, but Ultraman could seriously injure her and there wouldn't be a thing he could do to stop it. He sighed. He couldn't believe he was saying this. "Superman might have a point. I can lean on him. Go with Manhunter and the Flash."

M'yri'ah nodded at him. "Okay."

Now that that matter was cleared up the other teams left without incident.

Barry gave J'onn a grin. "I'll try to save some for you guys." And just like that, the Flash was gone.

M'yri'ah was about to kick off into the sky when she felt J'onn's hand take hers. "M'yri'ah? " He said softly.

"Hm?" She wondered what was so important that couldn't wait until they were finished.

He took a deep breath and said. "Sometimes I'm not very good at expressing my feelings."

Her smile let him know she didn't think he was ever good at expressing emotion. "Yes?"

"Earlier today at the Watchtower," He said, before clarifying. "From my world." She looked at him expectantly. "Some things were said..."

"You mean how you never mentioned me before?" M'yri'ah guessed, it was easy to deduce considering Lex just blurted that out not but a few minutes before.

She knew what he meant, so it made things easier on him. "Yes."

"It's okay J'onn. We were really just newlyweds." At least in the eyes of their people, who were long lived. "And you've been with some human women longer than we were together." He had given her access to his memories after all and she spent her time going through a few of them.

What she said startled him. "M'yri'ah…"

"It's alright. I'm not mad. You aren't made of stone after all. You've lived a long time and it was so long ago." He had to experience most of those years, she merely skipped ahead in time. "It's been only a few years for me since you died. I don't expect…"

J'onn held up his hand to her in a quieting gesture. "Please wait." She finally stopped talking. "It doesn't matter how long we were together. I didn't mention you because I've only recently began to remember things." Just these last few decades things finally started to come into place.

"Oh?" She decided maybe she should just let him speak for himself.

"After you died I had… memory lapses." Which was a terrible understatement. He had been more insane than anything when K'hym and M'yri'ah died. After Ma'alefa'ak was gone, well, since J'onn killed him, he allowed himself to just forget everything. "I didn't tell them when I remembered because I was embarrassed of how I acted." His personality had changed drastically in the last few years and it often worried his friends. He had been much friendlier when he lived in his delusions. As his memories returned he became more reserved and serious until finally he began to close himself off. "And some things I did remember were just too hard to talk about." How did you explain to others that even though you've had centuries to deal with your issues that there were some wounds that time could not heal?

"I see."

"I loved you and K'hym very much." His voice grew very quiet.

She looked so shy suddenly and glanced away "I know you did."

"I just don't want you to think that our time together didn't mean anything." No matter how long he lived or would live from here on out they had always meant the world to him. "I still love you and I always have." He added.

"I know J'onn." She knew his feelings as well as he did. "I know you love me."

He forgot he really didn't need to explain himself to her. She would know. Turnabout was fair play. "Of course you do."

"It's alright." She said. "You've been among humans for such a long time, so of course you would start to think more like them." She didn't want him to feel like he needed to explain his feelings or his actions to her. "Thank you for telling me. Sometimes, even though we know what the other is thinking, it's nice to hear it out loud. I know that it probably made you uncomfortable."

"Yes... well." J'onn let his voice trail off. He looked in the direction that Flash ran off.

She kissed the side of his mouth, since his head was turned at such an odd angle. "I love you too." Before she told him, "You know the Flash will probably be upset at us for making him wait."

He felt like he was making a lot of people wait on him recently. "I know."

* * *

Barry said nothing when they arrived later than they should have, but then again the fastest man alive was used to waiting on everyone else. At least he hadn't tried to take them on his own. They formed a plan together. The Flash would handle the Syndicate members on the docks, J'onn would see to the boat and M'yri'ah would destroy any cargo that hadn't been loaded onto the ship yet.

The Flash made it look easy, zipping around, knocking startled goons into the water all the while joking. He seemed to be having the time of his life.

M'yri'ah spent most of the fight elbow deep in bombs that were still on the docks. She tore out wires and pulled off stabilizing fins, anything to make them useless. She stopped the moment she heard a heavy splash followed by a loud roar.

Much to her amusement J'onn had transformed himself into a water dragon and coiled himself around a villain that was dressed in biker attire. J'onn gave him a good squeeze before flinching at a high pitched sound.

M'yri'ah didn't have long to ponder who was making that awful racket when she was suddenly knocked over onto the ground. She got to her feet but something swift almost knocked her off balance. When she finally righted herself someone was breathing in her ear.

"Hello." Johnny Quick was behind her, she sent elbow backward, trying to strike him in the face. He dodged her easily and briefly sent his arm through her chest before pulling it out. It's wasn't often Luthor let his pet Martian out to play. Johnny thought to himself. He wondered what she could take before he broke her entirely.

M'yri'ah tried flying away but he snatched her up by the ankle and dropped her onto the ground. She tried becoming intangible but he had an answer for that as well, vibrating his body until he was on her cellular level and blocking her escape. He once again shot his hand through her abdomen, eliciting a pained cry from her.

"Not getting away from me, love." Johnny grunted in surprise when he felt a multitude of fists pummeling him, he found himself reeling backwards from the force of them.

"Why don't you try picking on someone your own speed?" Barry was able to knock Johnny off M'yri'ah easily. "You okay?" He asked over his shoulder, keeping himself between M'yri'ah and the other speedster.

"Yes." She managed to say, coughing.

"Good," Flash said. "Keep doing what you're doing, we're almost done." By the time he turned around again Johnny was gone. He supposed that he was cutting his losses and retreating. Now that he could move around more freely without having to worry about Johnny attacking J'onn or M'yri'ah he began tying up villains before they could even figure out what happened. He'd leave the police a few presents to pick up in the morning.

M'yri'ah took a good long breath before she began going zooming through crates again. She became intangible, ripping metal and wires as she went.

J'onn in the meantime was tearing through the ship like a battering ram with his body. He went through every floor on the way down to the water below and then again on the way back up. By the time he was in the air again the freighter was beginning to capsize. "Are you finished?" He asked, seeing M'yri'ah slow down and land on the docks below.

"Yes!" She called up to him.

"Done here!" The Flash shouted, finally stopping.

"Then let's go." J'onn called to the both of them.

"You sure you are alright?" Flash appeared at M'yri'ah side.

"Yes, but I told you I wasn't good in a fight." She joked, still clutching her chest. Having never been on the receiving end of one of her husband's go-to moves she was pretty horrified about how bad it felt.

"You did great." Flash thumped her.

* * *

**Author's notes: The next few chapters are going to really start veering off from the movie. The plot should stay intact and I'll try to remember that some people have not seen the movie so I'll try to make sure I write out major plot points even if it's brief just so no one is left wondering what happened in the end.**


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's notes: Just a bit of a warning, there is a brief romantic bit in this chapter near the end. I think it's pretty tame but just in case I'll say this chapter is one of the many reasons I chose M as my rating. _

* * *

The Justice League rendezvous in a public park where they compared notes on how their respective missions went. Each team was thankfully able to give a positive report.

Superman was able to give the most impressive report of all. He and Lex apprehended Ultraman. "Lex did most of the work." Clark looked like he was impressed.

M'yri'ah punched her leader's shoulder lightly in congratulations.

"Superman is just being modest. It also didn't hurt that I had blue kryptonite." Lex was pleased that he was wrong about not being able to take down the Syndicate with so little manpower, and that they were able to complete so much in such a short amount of time. He only wished he had asked for help sooner. His happy mood was interrupted by some commotion in the distance. His once smiling face fell and worked its way into a scowl. M'yri'ah could hear people rushing up behind them. J'onn and Clark already had their heads cocked to the side as a small crowd of guards drew near.

They weren't given much explanation other than they were being brought to speak to the President of the United States and that it was regarding the arrest of Ultraman, the Crime Syndicate's boss. The Justice League supposed the President wanted to thank them, but Lex and M'yri'ah knew better. Both of them exchanged pessimistic looks.

Later in the day they found themselves in a waiting area just inside the back gate of the White House. Lex supposed that they would be spotted but he needed M'yri'ah to do something for him. He waved her over to him and whispered. "M'yri'ah I need you to look human, completely human and not…" He gestured to her body. He knew this was going to sound rude, but he didn't have time to be polite. "Whatever this is that you do. You'll also need a new costume."

"What?" M'yri'ah wondered. "Why?"

"You and I know what he is going to say. If we offer to watch over you-know-who maybe he won't be such a hard ass this time." He meant for her to watch over President Slade's daughter, Rose. "I need you to guard her, but if people see you they'll know they can toss a cigarette in your face and scare you."

It was sad but true. Martians were afraid of fire from her universe, big or small. Cigarettes were the least of her worries but it could still startle her if she wasn't prepared for it. Martians of this universe seemed to have the opposite problem. They all suffered from cryophobia, they were afraid of ice or freezing. Well, at least that was what she could glean from her brief experience with J'edd yesterday.

The Syndicate was well aware of her pyrophobia so they wouldn't hesitate to send someone who could take her out easily to get to Rose. Now that J'onn was here, they would probably use that against him too if they got the chance.

M'yri'ah altered her facial shape slightly, changing her hair to a deep black. Her white uniform brightened into yellow with red boots, gloves and a mask that obscured the lower half of her face. Her skin tone was that of a Caucasian and sported steel grey eyes.

"Perfect." Lex complimented, giving her a brief eyeball. "We'll just call you Maria." No one knew her real name anyway. They always called her Medic. "Or maybe Myra."

"Very original." M'yri'ah tittered. "Let's just go with Maria this time."

"That takes care of Rose." Lex turned to J'onn then. "Can I ask you to watch the President?" Lex thought he would ask J'onn rather than go through Superman. J'onn seemed to be his own man and Lex knew if he ordered any member of the Justice League to do anything they wouldn't listen to him anyway.

J'onn wasn't sure if all this would be necessary but for the sake of moving forward he would agree. "That would be fine."

What looked to be a guard was sent out to retrieve them. "The President will see you now." And with that he turned on his heel and expected them to follow.

When they arrived in his office, President Slade Wilson wasn't looking too happy. This came as no surprise to Lex.

M'yri'ah listened while Slade gave the Justice League a good tongue lashing for bothering the Crime Syndicate. How what they did today would surely cause repercussions. He informed them that he had already released and pardoned the Syndicate members that the Justice League had arrested that day.

Lex let out a curse, disgusted with Wilson's cowardice and told him in no uncertain terms that he would be fighting the Syndicate to the death.

Clark followed Lex's lead. However, he was much gentler sounding and gave a speech about how they couldn't just do nothing. They couldn't just let the Crime Syndicate get away with what they were doing to the people. That Slade needed to be brave and stand up to the Syndicate and that the Justice League would help.

Rose had made her way into the room by then, disappointment apparent on her face. She had obviously heard the news that her father let Ultraman go.

Slade saw his daughter and knew he what was coming. He turned his attention back to Superman as soon as he was finished talking. "It's easy for you to say that when you can eat bullets for breakfast."

Rose looked so sad just then. _"Oh dad, how could you be such a coward? You were so brave during the war."_ Her voice sounded distorted to M'yri'ah's ears.

M'yri'ah tried to understand what happened. Then she realized Rose's voice was echoing off of J'onn's mind to her. She wondered why he was reading her.

"You're father isn't a coward Rose." J'onn didn't even realize she said the words in her mind, he heard them just as if she spoke them out loud. "He's just trying to think of the people that could get hurt." He's just trying to think of you. He thought, remembering his own daughter.

Rose looked at J'onn, surprised. "You can hear what I'm thinking?" She was embarrassed about having him call her out in front of her father. She would have said as much on her own, but having someone listen in was a different story.

J'onn tried to comprehend what had just happened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude."

"No, it's alright." Rose was so disappointed with her own father but she understood what J'onn was trying to say. "You are right I suppose." She looked away bashfully.

J'onn watched Rose's reaction for a moment then felt M'yri'ah's amusement at this discovery.

_"Well well, J'onn. It looks like you've found a kindred spirit."_ M'yri'ah thought.

_"Maybe so."_ He thought back.

_"Just you wait J'onn."_ She couldn't help but tease him.

_"Wait for what?"_ What was she going on about?

_"You will see."_

He was about to ask why she was being so cryptic when Luthor brought him back to the present. "This is Martian Manhunter, he's not from our world. He'll be your personal guard while we clean up your mess." He then introduced M'yri'ah. "This is Maria Jones. She will look after your daughter."

"So you are planning on putting your super friend on me and just a regular body guard on my daughter?" Slade asked incredulously. "I don't think so. I'm in no danger." He looked at J'onn. "You'll be following Rose around."

He could tell M'yri'ah was smiling at him behind her mask. "As you wish."

* * *

For the first time since they arrived they had a moment to themselves. They were on a timetable, but humans still needed to sleep thank goodness.

Clark offered to watch Rose and President Slade while J'onn and M'yri'ah slipped away for the evening. Clark needed about as much sleep as J'onn did, which wasn't much.

J'onn found somewhere private for them to go where no one would find them. He had chosen a hill with a forest behind them and a valley to look down below. It was fall from the look and feel of things. He was sitting in the long grass, in a lotus position as he had a habit of doing. M'yri'ah sat beside him with her legs tucked under her. She leaned into him for support. Her hand rested on his chest and his much larger hand covered hers.

"I still can't believe you are here." He said for what he felt must have been the hundredth time.

"Me either." Then she corrected herself. "Well I can't believe you are here that is, not me." She laughed a little awkwardly. "I haven't seen you or a version of you since I left my world." She went on further to explain. "Luthor tends to visit worlds like the one here, where the villains in our world are reversed." She supposed it was because he was most familiar with them. "He got the idea from me to visit you. My Justice League was similar to your own but we had a lot more members than you do." She couldn't have imagined trying to save the world from its many calamities with only six or seven people.

"You knew I would be here?" He wondered.

"Well, no I didn't. Luthor knew there was a Martian hero in this world." M'yri'ah said. "We saw your picture on a poster when we arrived. I knew it was you. He was pretty happy too. He thought if you saw me you would be able to convince the Justice League to help."

"He is very manipulative." J''onn said. "And yet you trust him."

"Well, yes." She said. "He is still Lex you know." She thought about it. "You know the world is messed up when people who would have been villains decide to be good just to survive. Despite Lex's tenuous grasp on the truth at times he does mean well."

"Yes." He didn't really understand it himself but he agreed anyway.

She peaked around her shoulder, to look at the trees behind them. She always liked the spring and fall. The leaves were so beautiful during those times. "Besides, I can always tell when he is lying even without reading his mind." She said almost absently.

"How so?"

"I just do. Maybe it's because I've spent too much time with him." She shrugged. "Or maybe it is like your bond with your lady friend I imagine."

"With Rose?"

"Yes." M'yri'ah said. "I can also feel his emotions, maybe it's part of the reason I can tell when he's lying. He feels guilty I think. I can't really hear his thoughts like you can hear Rose's but as soon as Lex is lying I can tell right away." Lex was so good at what he did. Even mind readers had a difficult time figuring out fact from fiction.

"Does it bother you?" He asked. "My connection with her?"

"Of course not J'onn. I know you." She said. "I know your mind. Perhaps if I wasn't here you would have been meant to be."

"Together with her?" She was rather blasé about him finding someone else. What she had said earlier about him being with other women bothered him as well. He didn't want her to feel jealous but the way she said it made it sound like she didn't care one way or the other.

"Maybe." She had that same even tone. He might not emote very well, but it was very unlike her.

It made J'onn curious since she brought it up. He really didn't know how to ask without sounding indelicate. "Do you and Luthor have a... special bond?"

"Yes I suppose, but it's nothing romantic." She shuddered at the thought. "I still cannot get past him being Lex Luthor. Even though I know he's different I associate his face with bad things. I have never been able to completely shake it." She added softly. "Besides, after you I suppose I didn't really want anyone else."

"Oh?" He could hear that her tone had changed. She was starting to sound more like the M'yri'ah he was used to.

"But I haven't had as much time to get over what happened as you have." She added quickly, not wanting to sound like she was judging him.

Her thoughts raced by in a blur giving him a little more insight into her behavior. J'onn realized that she didn't want to seem jealous because she didn't want him to feel guilty. She didn't want him to feel as if he hadn't been true to her. He already made himself miserable enough. She felt if he could find even brief moments of happiness with someone else he should have taken them. After this discovery he wasn't sure what to say to her.

Her eyes seemed to be fixed on her boots now. "You feel so old J'onn."

He felt relieved that she changed the subject. "It's because I am."

She wondered how their worlds were so similar and yet their time after Mars seemed to be so different. "Perhaps time was distorted after we died?"

"I was alone on Mars for centuries." J'onn admitted. "Before Dr. Erdel took me."

She could see his memories of wandering alone in the great deserts, beams of light scanned around for him but he seemed to avoid them in his travels. If he had just stepped inside the light he would have gone to Erdel right away. How different they were. "I wasn't there long, maybe a few months after you died. When I saw the lights in the sky, I really didn't know what they were, but they were so hot, I thought maybe if I stepped in them…"

He didn't want her to finish her sentence. "You thought they would kill you?" That was rather disheartening.

"Yes." She said. "I was so tired of being afraid."

"M'yri'ah..." He began.

"Your brother was still there on Mars with me after everyone else was gone." She wanted to explain. "I could lose him for days at a time but he followed me relentlessly." She was stuck on a dead planet with the man who orchestrated the death of their people. Even before then he had gone out of his way to hurt her deeply, simply because she was J'onn's wife. She didn't really want to think about it. She could only thank heaven Ma'alefa'ak couldn't read her thoughts anymore or he would have been able to find her easily. "I couldn't sleep well. I became so crazed. I just wanted it to end quickly rather than wait to see what he had planned for me." He had gotten so close to her many times. Calling out for her in J'onn or K'hym's voice, pleading for her to come out of hiding and be with them. How alone they were without her.

J'onn hadn't thought of her being trapped with his monster of a brother. "I see." He had faced off with Ma'alefa'ak as well, but he had many years of training as a Manhunter to aid him. M'yri'ah had been a civilian and would have no defense against him.

"Ma'alefa'ak didn't know what happened to me at first when I came to Earth, but when he did he brought Darkseid." She said. "It was like watching what happened to Mars all over again. I killed him, I killed Ma'alefa'ak." It had been more of a happy accident really. When Ma'alefa'ak was coming for her he had decided to gloat near a bomb Darkseid had brought with him and she had just so happened to be close to the detonator. "And everyone else was gone again… but there were no beams of light to take me away this time. Then Lex found me, and well, the rest is history."

J'onn gave her an ever so subtle smile.

"What?" She wondered.

"You've always known how to tell a story." He looked at the moon hanging high overhead. "I tend to bore people with my dronings."

"You barely talk." M'yri'ah corrected him.

"But when I do talk I imagine I bore people."

"Maybe because your voice is so monotone?" M'yri'ah guessed. "You get it from your mother."

J'onn hadn't heard his mother, Sha'sheen mentioned in so long. "I suppose so."

"Oh no, you definitely get it from her." M'yri'ah grinned. "I could tell she was your mother the moment she opened her mouth."

J'onn listened as M'yri'ah imitated his mother's voice almost perfectly, telling him off like she would a child in her scolding yet deadpan fashion and it made him laugh.

For a few moments at least, things were quiet between them when they looked up at the sky.

"I like how round the moon is here." M'yri'ah said breaking the silence. The moons of Mars looked lopsided in comparison to what they were seeing now. "It looks so big tonight doesn't it?"

J'onn looked at her in the moonlight. Her yellow uniform practically glowed in the darkness. "It's just the two of us." He said softly. He wished he could see her as she really was.

"It is." She knew enough what he wanted. Her uniform, and all the trappings of humanity faded away and she became her true self.

J'onn didn't need to change himself too much. These days when he was in his hero form he looked more like his true self. He had grown tired of hiding what he really looked like and bit by bit he was starting to reveal himself. His Manhunter uniform slowly faded away into his green skin and she could see the beautiful lines of muscle carved over his body.

She couldn't help but smile at him. _"You are as handsome as I remember."_ She spoke to him within his mind now, as was their way when they were being intimate.

He felt his heart skip at her flattery. _"It's been awhile since anyone has called me that."_

_"Well it's true."_ She moved to her knees so she would be tall enough kiss him. He drew her onto his lap, so she wouldn't have to lean over.

It felt so good to kiss her but again she was being so bold. Her hands drew his face to her, as if she were trying to take command of him.

_"Is something wrong?"_ She asked since he seemed distracted.

_"Did you used to kiss me like this?"_ He wondered if things were a little more different between the two of them since they did come from parallel universes. Maybe their deaths weren't the only thing that was different about them. _"You seem so eager."_

_"Well, I suppose I didn't before. I just missed you and..."_ M'yri'ah blushed. _"When you touch me I can't think."_ She then wondered. _"Do you not like it?"_

_"I do like it."_ He corrected her, feeling guilty that he made her feel self-conscious. _"I was just curious."_

_"Would you like to kiss me?"_ She asked.

He only smiled and this time kissed her. His hands seemed to be everywhere suddenly, finally allowing himself to touch her as he wanted this whole time. Hs hands ran along her head, her face, her neck and her breasts. He made his way down her legs. She touched him too, mindlessly whimpering at the contact between their bodies. She had been so reserved since his death, hardly allowing anyone to get near her. She felt hypersensitive. It was almost overwhelming to have him touch her like this now.

Things were getting heated between them. He pushed her onto the grass below him. He bit the crook of her neck briefly, his way of claiming her. She let out a shuddering gasp when she felt his arousal brush against her.

He listened to her whimper as he moved over her again. Their minds had merged and she was so responsive to his touch it was hard not to lose himself completely. _"I've missed you M'yri'ah."_

He seemed to hesitate again. She wondered what he was waiting for. _"I've missed you too."_

He kissed her again. _"Please tell me, tell me you will come home with me at the end of all this."_

She was surprised he brought her leaving up just then. _"Oh,"_ The sexual fog lifted from her mind. _"I haven't thought of that."_

J'onn was surprised when her body cooled off. He moved off of her, a little stunned that she hadn't considered staying with him. He felt like someone had come up and dumped a bucket of ice water over him.

M'yri'ah realized she had upset him with her words. _"It's not that I don't want to go with you J'onn. I just owe Lex my life. I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for him."_ Then again... _"But I also wouldn't be here if it weren't for you either."_ He had saved her when they first met.

He decided to change the subject. It wouldn't do well to dwell on her not wanting to be with him in his world. _"What happened?"_ He could easily read her mind but he would much rather hear her tell him instead. _"When did K'hym and I die?"_

_"When we were being processed through a camp they took K'hym from us. We escaped soon after and you went to go rescue her. You told me to stay and hide while you went for her. You said I was too upset to help. I waited and waited and you never returned."_ She remembered finding their bodies in a mass grave later.

_"Oh,"_ So that was the difference. _"I see."_

_"What?"_ M'yri'ah took her focus off the brightening horizon to look at him.

_"I remember that day."_ J'onn said, remembering. _"You didn't listen to me. You followed me when I told you to stay put and you ended up rescuing me for once. I was so angry about them taking K'hym that I wasn't paying attention to what was happening around me and you saw the White Martians before they ambushed us."_

She looked horrified. If she had only gone after them she could have helped save her family.

_"M'yri'ah,"_ He said, knowing she felt guilty. _"In my world we came back with K'hym but she contracted the plague while she was in their camp. You didn't want her to suffer alone and so you died with her."_

So K'hym died no matter what she did. _"Oh."_

_"Yes."_ He voice was soft. _"So you see, there is no happily ever after."_

_"I suppose not. Not for us anyway."_ She couldn't help but think of K'hym now as a baby. She had always been such a joyful child. _"She was so beautiful."_ M'yri'ah said. _"She was so sweet. It doesn't seem fair that she died."_

J'onn agreed. It wasn't fair indeed.

M'yri'ah rubbed her face. She had thought she had finished crying for her lost daughter, but apparently not. _"I can't believe I helped saved you for once."_

_"I can."_ J'onn said. _"You were so always so brave."_

_"But I suppose I didn't."_ M'yri'ah reminded herself, his wife helped him but she stayed behind. _"I was a coward and hid."_

_"Well, you were only listening to me."_ J'onn defended her. _"I'm sure you wanted to go."_

_"I did."_ But she thought she would have only got in his way.

_"You see? You are no coward M'yri'ah. Please don't think that ever."_

_"Thank you."_ She blinked a few times at him, the sun had come up and blinded her with its brightness.

_"The sun is rising."_ J'onn realized that they were once again out of time. They would need to leave soon. _"I wanted to love you but it looks like we've only spent our time swapping war stories."_ He drank in her beauty before she once again donned her human appearance.

_"Ah yes."_ M'yri'ah sighed, looking at the rising sun. She wished she hadn't interrupted them with her doubts now. She wanted nothing more than to feel close to him again. _"The hours are going by so fast."_

It was true, the older he was the faster the days raced by. It seemed even more so now that M'yri'ah was here with him. His uniform began covering his skin and hers followed suit. She once again appeared to be human, that red sash covering her face. He stood up and offered her his hand which she took. "There will be plenty of time later." At least he hoped so.

He was speaking outside of his mind again, their private time together was at an end. "Yes." She agreed, looking thoughtful. "J'onn?" She met his gaze.

"Yes?" He knew what she was going to say, but he wanted to hear it out loud.

"If everything works out, if we beat them." She didn't want to count victory just yet. "I will come with you to your world. I want to be with you."

Maybe they had a little more time after all. J'onn pushed the mask down off her face before he leaned in and kissed her again. It was quickly becoming an addictive habit. "Thank you M'yri'ah."

M'yri'ah didn't want their time together to end. She wished they could stay a while longer but they needed to go. "We should leave."

He closed his eyes against the brightness of the sun as it lifted fully off the horizon. "I know."

* * *

**Author: First I want to apologize. I really wanted to go over this stupid chapter some more. I've read the completed version of this chapter a dozen times at least and I still keep finding things I hate. I know there have got to be more mistakes than I wanted. I felt like I didn't want to pick at it anymore though - scared I'm going to make it worse. The next chapter should be up soonish. I'd like to give it a few more go throughs. I think you'll like it. Chapters 6 and on are mostly written. I think I need to really hammer out the details and really sit down and make sure everything is flowing right.**


	5. Chapter 5

M'yri'ah and J'onn sat on separate chairs as Rose channel surfed in the living room. Rose had insisted they sit with her rather than stand to the back like the rest of her guards. She saw the two of them as guests to entertain. Slade had poured himself a drink and sat down as well. He didn't seem to mind their presence.

Rose stopped on the news and crossed her arms. Ultraman was on the screen, looking as pleasant as he could. He was opening a new public park today and was cutting the ribbon. Everyone in the crowd seemed to be quite happy with him. Rose scoffed. "He murders people, and yet he can open a park and everyone just loves him." It made her sick.

J'onn thought Rose reminded him of Clark just then. Luthor in their world often gave back to the community, covering up his villainous personality with gifts. Clark often spoke out against him and sometimes it didn't make him very popular depending on who he was speaking to. There were many people who loved Luthor for all that he did and felt that the Justice League were bullies.

After Ultraman's ribbon cutting ceremony Rose's own face appeared on the screen. She was giving another one of her controversial speeches and the newscasters seemed to be split on how they felt about what she was saying.

"Damn it Rose." Slade didn't look too happy to see her face on the news again.

"What dad?" Rose sighed, rolling her eyes. "You already yelled at me about that one. Look at the date on the screen, it was a month ago."

"Yes, and you are going out again today to stick your neck out. You are killing me." He stood up. "I need another drink if I'm going to get through the day."

"Dad..." Rose was worried.

"It's just my second one." Slade said, trying to reassure her. "I'm not going to have another. Don't get in a tizzy." He sat down again and looked at the two guards Lex assigned to them. "Rose honey, why don't you go to your room for a while?" He gestured for her to leave. "I need to talk with our friends here about you going out today."

"I'm not a child." Rose crossed her arms over her chest again. "You can't just order me to my room while you try to get them to stop me from speaking out."

"Baby, I know wild horses couldn't drag you away from that rally today." Slade sounded frustrated. "I'm trying to make sure you get there and get back in one piece." Ultraman had stopped by before he had met with the Justice League. Ultraman both thanked Wilson for letting him out and then threatened his daughter if she spoke out again before flying off.

That seemed to pacify Rose. "Well, alright." She cast a glance at J'onn then stepped out of the room.

When Slade was sure Rose was out of earshot he took a drink and spoke to M'yri'ah. "You aren't really just a human in a fancy suit are you?" He swished his drink a little, and the ice cubes made a clicking sound against the glass. "I saw you fly off last night with him." He gestured towards J'onn.

"Well, no. I'm not just a human." M'yri'ah said, not wanting to tell him she was a Martian as well. Lex asked her to keep that secret for a reason, she was sure. "I do have super powers."

"Hm," Slade seemed to consider that. "What all can you do?"

"I'm strong and I can fly." She wasn't sure she wanted to offer more than that.

"Maybe you should go with Rose today." Slade said slowly and looked at J'onn. "And you can stay here with me."

"I'm honored you would put so much faith in me." M'yri'ah didn't want to throw J'onn in danger, but she felt he had a lot more experience than she did with guarding people. She didn't want Rose to die because she was an amateur. "But J'onn is very good at what he does."

"I suppose." Slade seemed to be thinking heavily on that. "Maybe J'onn could go with her and you could stay with me."

J'onn was starting to feel odd. He wasn't sure why. "Maybe I should call on one of my friend's to help." He suggested. "Then M'yri'ah and I can go with your daughter since you are so worried."

"But J'onn aren't they a little busy right now?" M'yri'ah asked. "You and I can handle guarding the two of them on our own."

_"Yes, but then you would be left alone."_ J'onn thought to her.

_"I can easily watch Slade on my own since he'll be here at the White House."_ She frowned when she realized what he was thinking. _"You don't have to watch over me."_

_"I know you can take care of him on your own."_ He said in her mind. _"But something isn't right."_

_"What do you mean?"_ She could feel his worry.

_"I don't know."_ He knew something was coming. He just couldn't put his finger on it. _"I just know that I shouldn't leave you alone."_

_"Aren't you being a little paranoid?_" She asked.

_"Maybe."_ He admitted. _"But I'd rather be paranoid and be proven wrong than for you to get hurt."_

"Why are you two staring at each other?" Slade asked, bringing them out of thoughts. "If you are so worried about leaving each other alone I can do without you. I have plenty of guards. Rose is going to one of her rallies today and I need her protected."

"Won't that leave you without protection?" M'yri'ah was a little nervous about leaving Slade on his own with only his human staff.

Slade looked worried. "I already have all the help I need. The Syndicate isn't stupid enough to try to kill me yet. But Rose, she she's all I got left. My wife, my sons, all of them are gone. Please you can't let them kill my baby girl too."

M'yri'ah and J'onn glanced at each other. How could they refuse?

"We will go with Rose then." J'onn agreed, feeling better.

"Good." Slade nodded. "Now to stack the cards in my favor..." He gestured for one of his guards to come forward. "This is Jay, the head of my personal servicemen."

Jay nodded at the introduction. He was tall and well-muscled underneath his black suit. He was rather stony faced, much like J'onn. He kept his eyes on the Martian the whole time. It was easy to see that he didn't trust him near the President.

"Jay will go with Rose, her own guards and the two of you." Slade instructed.

J'onn stood up to meet with Jay. He didn't generally shake hands but he thought it might put the man at ease. "My name is J'onn J'onzz." He held his hand out in greeting.

Jay just looked at his hand and scowled at him. "No thanks."

Slade sighed at him. "Try to be nice Jay or this is going to be a longer day than it has to be."

"Yes sir." Jay still didn't offer his hand to him and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Jay, this is Maria Jones." Slade distracted his grumpy serviceman by introducing his other teammate.

"Nice to meet you." She said. J'onn noted that Jay took M'yri'ah's hand. Maybe Jay didn't trust him because he was a Martian. Considering the only known Martian in this universe was evil he could understand. He couldn't hear much from Jay's mind, other than he liked the sound of M'yri'ah's voice. Jay seemed to be a simple man.

"You might want to change into something less conspicuous." Jay eyed M'yri'ah bright red and yellow costume. "Maybe something like what we're wearing." He pointed to his suit.

"Good idea." M'yri'ah nodded. "I'll get ready in a few minutes."

"Good, because we'll be leaving shortly." Jay offered her a shadow of a smile. He looked at J'onn. "You might also want to dress different." Jay made a gesture at his own face. "You may scare people looking the way you do."

J'onn acknowledged him with a nod.

"I'll go get Rose." Jay told Slade. "I'll drive the car she is in. Don't worry. Nothing will happen to her while I'm around."

"Thank you Jay." Wilson nodded at him.

And with that Jay left the room.

* * *

Rose went over her speech in her head again while she flipped through her cards. They had her talking points scrawled across them in a hurried script and while she had memorized them it didn't hurt to give it one more go through.

She kept glancing at J'onn. She wondered why he had changed himself to look like a human before they left the White House. He acted as if he were any one of her guards that followed her day to day. He spoke with her in a professional tone as they walked to the car. He opened the door for her before he sat down on the bench seat beside her. He buckled himself in just like you would expect anyone to do. Then he crossed his arms over his chest when he was finished and kept his eyes forward for the majority of the trip. "You know J'onn, no one can see in here, you don't have to look like that."

J'onn turned to look at Rose. "I thought this appearance would make you feel more comfortable." He also couldn't argue with Jay's idea about looking human. It had the added benefit that someone wouldn't think to use fire against him.

"Please, it's okay to be yourself." She insisted.

He looked at her for a moment more before changing into his usual form.

"That's better." She scooted closer to get a better look. "So, you are a Martian like J'edd?" Rose asked. "But you don't look like him."

"He does look different." J'onn agreed. "I'm not sure if he is in his true form so I can't tell if we would look similar."

"Oh yes. He looks like that." Rose told him. "He used to look more human when he first came to Earth, but then he wanted to scare everyone so he put on his Martian appearance." She made a wide gesture with her arms. She was thinking that would best illustrate the four arms J'edd had. It was kind of cute in a way.

J'onn found his and J'edd's similarities disturbing, at least the timing in their taking their natural form again. J'onn just wanted to be himself. He hadn't intentionally wanted to change his appearance to frighten people.

"Can you normally read people's minds like mine?" Rose wondered, changing the subject. "You seemed surprised yesterday."

"Yes I can read people's minds but usually it's intentional." J'onn explained, letting his hands rest in his lap. "I was just surprised because I could hear your thoughts when I hadn't meant to."

"Is it unusual to hear people's thoughts when you don't mean to?" She fidgeted with her cards.

"It's not common, no." He found himself staring at the door locking mechanism as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Rose was kind of hoping there would be something special between the two of them. "Is this what you really look like?" She seemed to get closer with every question she asked, but he was sure it was just his imagination.

"Mostly, yes." J'onn said. He still hadn't completely taken on his Martian shape in public.

"This is what your face looks like?"

She was awfully curious about him. Still, he preferred it to her screaming in terror or looking apprehensive. "Yes."

"I think you look handsome like this."

"Thank you." What else could he say? He looked out the window, wondering where M'yri'ah was and if she was having a good laugh at him right now. When he turned around Rose was practically on top of him. She was looking heavy lidded, passionate and yet still thankfully shy enough not have jumped in his lap. He managed to turn his head in enough time so she only ended up kissing his cheek. "What are you doing?"

"I wanted to kiss you." She looked so hurt and embarrassed.

"Yes, I know what you were doing." He said in his most patient voice possible. "It's just that-"

"I'm sorry. I just thought that there was something between us." She interrupted him, retreating to the other side of the bench seat.

"Rose," He tried to let her down gently. "You are a very sweet girl and I am flattered that you might find me attractive..." Goodness knows most people were afraid of him. "But I have-"

"I've heard that one before." Rose turned her head so she wouldn't have to look at him. She felt so humiliated.

Dear God was he trapped in some horrible sitcom? He let out a sigh of frustration.

"That wasn't fair of me." Rose said suddenly. She came to her senses about how she was acting. "I'm sorry I tried to kiss you without permission. You are only here to protect me." She was in no position to ask him for more.

Thank goodness that was over. "It's alright Rose. Let's just get you through your speech."

Ah yes, her speech. Where were those cards of hers again? "My dad isn't happy about me going out today."

J'onn nodded in understanding. "He's worried about you."

"What do you think?" Rose asked. "I mean about me speaking out. Do you think I'm being irresponsible?"

"I think Clark was right when he said that someone has to be brave and do something to stop this madness." J'onn spoke honestly. "I think what you are doing is noble."

Rose hadn't expected that. She thought J'onn might agree with her father about her going. "Oh well, thank you." She seemed happy again. The car stopped suddenly and she sighed. She really wished she had a few more moments to read her cards one last time.

"It looks like we are here." J'onn announced, his visage forming into that of a human once more. "Tell me when you are ready."

Rose took a deep breath. "Here I go."

She sure didn't sound ready. He pulled the door open and stepped out, making a show of straightening his jacket. "Are you nervous?" He gave her his hand to help her out if she needed it and she gladly took it.

"I'm afraid of public speaking." Rose said seriously. "I'm always afraid I'm going to mess up and say something stupid."

J'onn almost laughed at that. They had just watched one of Rose's speeches on the news before coming here. Rose was so passionate when she spoke and she didn't look like anything fazed her at all. "You couldn't tell it."

M'yri'ah was there now, coming to the side of the car to assist him. Rather than wearing superhuman attire she had picked a smart looking black suit with a skirt so she also fit in with the rest of her body guards. He couldn't read her expression as she scanned the area.

"Oh J'onn." Rose let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, I actually feel better going up there now."

"I'm happy I could help." J'onn sounded sincere. "Don't worry about a thing. M'yri'ah and I shall protect you." He gestured to his wife.

"You mean Maria?" Rose took his arm.

He'd almost forgotten Luthor gave her that name to hide who she was. "Yes, Maria." He escorted her to the podium, M'yri'ah bringing up the rear.

They came to a stop in an area behind the podium. There was someone doing a mike check and Rose was busy shuffling through her cards one more time. J'onn felt she was relatively safe since she was surrounded on all sides.

They still had fifteen minutes before she went up so he decided to speak with M'yri'ah before Rose went on stage. "It seems like everything was quiet on the way over."

M'yri'ah nodded. "Yes, no one was following us from the skies."

M'yri'ah wasn't looking at him, he hadn't realized until just now that she had been blocking him from her mind. She hadn't severed their connection but she wasn't freely sharing either. "M'yri'ah," He asked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She said quickly.

Her tone was odd. "You aren't upset at me are you?" She turned her back on him and seemed to be fidgeting with something in her hand. He tried getting a look at her face but she kept turning around. "M'yri'ah?" He never knew her to be jealous before. He finally got a look at her face and she was grinning. "Are you playing games with me?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. I was having a bit of fun with you." She suddenly let their connection flow again.

"So you can't hide something important from me," He referred to her secret with Lex and the Quantum Trigger. "But you can hide your emotions just to torture me? And at a time like this."

She could tell he was deeply annoyed with her. "Don't be so angry."

"I'm not angry." He defended, his voice sounding prickly. "This just isn't the time or place."

"I'm sorry." She apologized again, trying to wipe the smile from her face.

"Is something the matter?" Rose saw the two of them having a serious looking discussion in the corner.

"No, everything is fine." J'onn said. "We were just discussing your security."

"Oh, alright. If you are sure everything is fine." Rose's voice drifted off and she once again began running through her lines in her head. J'onn had to block her voice out of his mind just so he could concentrate.

They waited while Rose went back to her other guards. "It looks like Lex isn't the only liar around here." M'yri'ah teased.

J'onn wanted to tell her he wouldn't have to have lied if she wasn't acting like a child and fooling around but he felt she got the message just by the look on his face. "This isn't a game M'yri'ah."

"I know." She finally sobered. "But when would I have a chance to tease you like that again?"

"I'm sure you'll have plenty of opportunities to torment me later when someone's life isn't on the line." When people died you tended to see them with rose tinted glasses. M'yri'ah wasn't an exception it seemed. He had forgotten that she used to tease him mercilessly or played pranks on him. He often looked so solemn that she did it just to see a different expression on his face. It was an aspect of her personality that she shared with his brother that J'onn felt she could do without.

"I'm sure I will." M'yri'ah kept her face straight.

J'onn was still annoyed with her but he felt he should let it go and focus. Rose was drinking a bottle of water, asking if her guards were fine having to wear such heavy suits when the weather was unseasonably warm. Everything was so odd in this world. He could not believe Slade Wilson was president of all people. And his daughter, Rose, or Ravager was so sweet in this world.

"It's like bizarro world." M'yri'ah said. "Isn't it?"

"A little, yes." He agreed. "I forget sometimes that you do not come from here." J'onn said. "You seem right at home."

"Oh no." She sighed. "This is place is just as strange for me. I'm still not used to Clark Kent being a mobster."

"So they share the same name?" J'onn didn't know that about Ultraman.

"Oh yes. They don't really hide it here." M'yri'ah said matter-of-fact. "You should have met my counterpart, M'ar'leen J'arkus. She was interesting." She heard she was like some unpleasant dungeon mistresses.

J'onn gave her a strange look.

"What?"

"So there are other Martians?" He scanned the area again.

"Yes I suppose there might be." M'yri'ah hadn't really considered it before. "She's the only other one I've heard about."

"You never met her?" He looked back at M'yri'ah.

"Oh no, but my friends in the Justice League fought her."

"So she is dead now?" M'yri'ah didn't seem to speak about her in the present tense so he wondered.

"I'm not sure. I've not heard about her on the news in months." M'yri'ah shrugged. "Her and J'edd, I heard didn't get along very well. It's a popular rumor that he killed her."

How strange to kill his own wife. If Martians were anything like they were in his world it would be like cutting out a part of himself. "I see."

They both watched Rose run through her speech one last time. "She likes you, you know." M'yri'ah said.

J'onn stared at her, not sure if he liked her teasing him again. "I know." He knew she saw what happened in the car.

M'yri'ah grinned, cutting her eyes at him slyly. "She seems like your type."

"How unkind of you to tease," He said evenly, not giving her the satisfaction of seeing his face. "When I only have eyes for you." He did admit. "She does remind me of you. She is a very sweet girl and also has a strong spirit."

"Yes, I suppose she does."

"You have nothing to be jealous of." He thought he would tease her right back.

She hadn't noticed his smile yet. "I know that."

"And yet you are jealous." He said in a deadpan sort of way.

"I'm not." She tittered when she finally realized he was only giving her what she was giving him.

He took her arm and leaned in to speak directly in her ear. "Don't worry M'yri'ah. Once this is over I'll show you just how much I love you."

He finally rendered her speechless and she remained that way until Rose went up to the podium.

As soon as Rose began talking they both felt something sinister appear in the vicinity. J'onn looked at M'yri'ah. _"Please watch over Rose. I will take care of the nuisance."_ He disappeared from sight and flew off to meet with Rose's would-be assassin.

Something fired in the distance and M'yri'ah didn't hesitate to appear before Rose. An arrow flew at her and she caught it easily, snapping it in half in her hand. M'yri'ah was actually pretty impressed with herself on that one.

Her husband had already flown to the rooftop to handle the Archer. She saw there was another archer on another rooftop, and then another and then another. J'onn dealt with them quickly and moved farther away from their location. It was as if they were drawing him away.

M'yri'ah looked at the broken arrow that had been launched at Rose. It didn't have a traditional pointed tip, but what looked to be a thin canister. Before she could react it let out a fine cloud of accelerant, followed by a flicking sound.

M'yri'ah let out a shrill scream when she felt flames envelope her.

"Oh God!" She could hear Rose cry out behind her.

M'yri'ah sank to her knees and felt something like a blanket go over her. It was probably Rose, extinguishing the flames that burned her skin relentlessly. She felt the blanket being jerked off of her suddenly but the fire was already out thankfully. She heard Rose scream and lash out, hitting someone from the sound of it. M'yri'ah tried to stand to help but her body wasn't cooperating with her and she had already began to lose consciousness.

_"You are coming with me."_ Someone said, and she felt herself being lifted up.

* * *

Pain threatened to ground him. J'onn thought someone had burned him but the feeling went away almost as soon as it began. He realized something was amiss and he returned to the stage Rose had given her speech on as soon as he was finished with the final bowman. By the time he got back Slade's daughter and M'yri'ah were gone. He scanned the area and found nothing to indicate where they had gone off to. He was left wondering how on earth they could have left the scene so quickly.

All of Rose's guards on the stage had been killed in such horrible ways, like they had been torn or cut apart. Two guards were missing. He wondered now if maybe there were a couple shape shifters in their group or if they had use of telepathy to hide themselves. How stupid he had been not to consider it.

_M'yri'ah…_ He clinched his fists so hard he could feel his fingernails biting into his palm. He tried reaching out to M'yri'ah to see where she was, but she was in a deep sleep. He would have to wait until she woke up.

In the meantime he needed to regroup at the White House and ask Slade some questions about those missing guards.

* * *

**Author's notes: Things are going to start getting incredibly mean soon. I absolutely love the Crime Syndicate. They are as evil as hell so pretty much anything goes with them. I'm still working on my next few chapters. Hopefully I don't mess it up. **

**You'll notice I'm starting to use italics when they are thinking to each other. I don't like to use it but I thought that it would help differentiate when they were talking out loud without having to type out "thought thought thought" or a variant of that word a bunch of times. I started looking really repetitive. I fixed the last chapter so you can tell when they are thinking in their minds. I added just a sentence to the romantic scene so they could think to each other.**


	6. Chapter 6

M'yri'ah could hear voices speaking as she slowly began to wake up. She could hear a girl whimpering in pain near her. For an insane moment she thought she was hearing her sister, then she realized it was Rose. She remained on the floor with her eyes closed and listened as the voices came into focus.

"Got a two for one I see." Ultraman said. "I guess our intel was right. She is that Martian Luthor is so fond of." He seemed annoyed that J'arkus brought her here.

Johnny glanced over at J'edd. "Did you bring her here 'cause you're still pissed off that she doesn't think you're pretty?" He could tell by J'arkus' expression that he hit the nail on the head.

"Among other reasons." J'arkus threaded his fingers together and rested his elbows on the table.

"You got to let it go man." Johnny laughed. "I think you are an ugly git too."

J'arkus wasn't going to dignify that with a response. "How silly," He said absently, thinking about M'yri'ah earlier as she burned. "To be harmed by fire." He wished that J'onn had stayed on the stage instead. He could have struck him through the heart while he was burning and been done with him. He could have then taken M'yri'ah at his leisure. But beggars couldn't be choosers and at least he got what he was after.

"That's because fire doesn't bother you, you idiot." Ultraman reminded him. "Toss you in a vat of ice water and you'll be screamin' just like her." He sighed. "I think we all got our asses handed to us recently. We've gone a little soft I suppose since there's been no one to challenge us until now."

"Yeah, yeah." Johnny put his feet up on the desk. "I wouldn't call what happened to me a defeat. I would say it was more of a strategic retreat." He had nothing but low level thugs with him at the docks earlier. He wasn't about to take on someone who was just as fast as him plus two Martians. He wasn't that stupid.

"That's because it wasn't your business that was affected." Power Ring grumbled. He had a lot more invested in the docks than Johnny did.

"Hey, you could have stepped in and helped me at any time you coward." Johnny sat up in his chair.

"I don't think this is a profitable area of discussion." Owlman sighed at their bickering. "We shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves." He added for his slower associates.

"Owlman is right. We've got enough on our plate without ripping each other's throats out." Ultraman agreed. "But we also wouldn't be having this discussion if the bomb was ready."

"Don't worry," Owlman's voice was calm and collected as always. "It will be ready soon. I just need to find where Luthor hid my power source."

"See that you do." Ultraman grumbled. "I'm sick of paying bribes to keep this place running smoothly."

"I think we all are." Johnny agreed.

"In the meantime we have Rose Wilson." Owlman reminded. "Thanks to J'arkus and his men, we can now operate without fear of a nuclear strike." He glanced at M'yri'ah whose eyes were starting to flutter open. "And then there is the matter of her."

"We don't really need the Martian." M'yri'ah could hear Superwoman say. "Let me have her. I want something to light on fire."

"We could use her as leverage." Owlman suggested. "The Manhunter is one of the more powerful members of their team."

"Perhaps he will betray them for her?" J'arkus asked. He knew he would sell anyone of these bastards out if he could see M'ar'leen again.

"I was thinking more of a blackmail situation." Owlman said. "Where he won't fight us or convince the others not to as well. But I suppose that is also an idea." Owlman weighed their options. Luthor was also fond of her since she was his last living team member. And while he doubted Lex would give the Syndicate the Quantum Trigger for her he was sure they could use her in some way against him.

"Hm." J'edd felt M'yri'ah wake up fully. He stood up during the meeting to cross over and greet her. "Hello sleepy head."

M'yri'ah felt herself being lifted by the front of her white uniform. At some point she must have changed back into her more human friendly form. She still felt light headed and her skin was still tender and looked raw from being burned. Her eyes began to dart around the room. She saw Rose on the floor below. The young redhead was also waking up to the nightmare of being trapped in the room with all the Syndicate members.

J'edd pulled her close to him until his nose was practically touching hers. Her mind finally began to focus._ "Remember me? I'm the one who you thought looked like an idiot?"_ He thought to her.

M'yri'ah felt a sick at the way he said that. He wasn't a particularly nice person and he seemed very happy to see her. One of his free hands came to rest over her left breast. Not bothering with phasing, his fingers became like knives and he pushed through her skin the old fashioned way. He clutched at her heart until she cried out.

"We haven't decided what we would do with her yet." Owlman reminded him. "Plus I believe Superwoman called her first."

"That's right, I did." Her heel tapped on the ground impatiently. J'arkus was making the meeting go on longer than it needed to be with his antics.

J'edd made a sound of annoyance and removed his hand, letting her slump back onto the ground. "So delicate. A little fire and you are useless." He shook his hand and a spray of blood lined the floor. He then turned to address the room. "I was the one who captured her. I think it's only fair that I should have her."

J'arkus kicked her across the room and she felt a gentle hand lift her into her lap and cradle her. It was Rose. M'yri'ah felt the hole in her chest knitting itself back together before she drifted off again.

"J'onn will come." Rose said, clutching her friend. "And then you'll be sorry."

"And we will be ready for him when he does." Owlman said calmly. He looked to Superwoman who seemed very eager to carry out his orders. "Tie her up would you darling? Then toss her and Rose in the room."

"Of course." Superwoman's voice was pure affection as she stood up to do just that. "I'd love to."

* * *

M'yri'ah had no idea how long she had been out. She must have been sleeping for a while though. Her skin felt much better and the hole in her chest seemed to have healed over nicely from what she could see. Her arms were cuffed behind her back. She tested them and realized that she was unable to get out of them. The metal grew and shrank as she tried to change the shape of her wrists. The Manhunters on Mars used these same cuffs to restrain criminals. Sometimes they even had special ropes or chains to go around a villain's entire body if they were particularly threatening.

Rose heard her stir and rushed to her side. "Are you okay M'yri'ah?"

"Yes, I am feeling better." She shook off that groggy feeling and looked around. The room was solid metal, but beautiful and comfortable. If the walls weren't metal gray she would think that they were both in a nice hotel room. "Wow, I guess when you are the President's daughter you get all kinds of nice accommodations."

"This isn't funny M'yri'ah." Rose sighed.

"I'm only saying this is the nicest dungeon I've ever been trapped in." M'yri'ah managed to step over the cuffs to bring her arms to the front but then they locked up. Her arms were practically fused together. The upper half of her body suddenly felt very odd, like she might have lost some of her flexibility. Still, this was better than having her arms behind her back and she could still move her hands.

M'yri'ah looked at Rose, the girl's arm was looking rather lopsided. "You dislocated your shoulder." She observed.

"Yes, they pulled me off you pretty hard." Rose flinched when M'yri'ah touched her arm.

"You were so brave." M'yri'ah said, thinking of how Rose rushed to put out the flames without even thinking of the danger she was in. "Thank you for saving me."

Rose looked embarrassed at her compliment. "Oh, it was nothing." She allowed M'yri'ah to push her towards the bed. Rose flinched when she took hold of her arm. "Ow." She whimpered when she felt M'yri'ah get a good grip on it.

"I'm going to pop it back into place." M'yri'ah warned her. "On the count of three. One. Two…" She pulled her arm and Rose let out a yelp of pain. It went back into place easily thank goodness. "I'm sorry."

When Rose stopped seeing stars she took a deep breath. "No. Thank you." She stood and paced around a bit, trying to walk off the pain, but it wasn't helping.

"Maybe you should sit for a while." M'yri'ah suggested. "You also need to get that arm in a sling."

"Fresh out of slings." But Rose did as M'yri'ah said and sat down in one of the chairs to rest.

"Nonsense." M'yri'ah grabbed a pillow case from the bed and began tearing it using her feet as hands. She could tell Rose was disturbed seeing that. M'yri'ah wasn't really bothered by her odd looks. She imagined she did look funny having hands on her feet, even temporarily. When she had a perfect square of cloth she stood up, her form going back to normal. She crossed the room to Rose and made her stand so she could put her arm in the sling. "That should do until we get out of here."

Rose sighed, while she didn't feel the best some of the pain had gone away. "Thank you again."

"You should rest." M'yri'ah said. "I think I will too, and look around for a moment." Maybe she could find an escape route if she cleared her head.

"Your skin is green." Rose said, trying to make conversation. She sat down on a chair and tried to rest and not think of the discomfort she felt.

"Yes it is." M'yri'ah scanned the ceiling and didn't find any fissures. "I disguise myself as a human from time to time. I did it this time so I could be in your service without tipping off anyone that I was a Martian, so exactly what happened would not happen."

"A couple of my guards were Martians." Rose informed her. "One of the guards father gave me for today was J'arkus. He's the one who took you."

"Two of them?" So one had been Jay? Jay was the man who shook her hand and stood by Rose's side throughout most of the rally. M'yri'ah remembered seeing him on many other occasions in the news with Slade. He was even there when the Justice League had been brought before the President when he released Ultraman. "I see." M'yri'ah guessed there were more Martians alive in this universe than in hers.

"He seems very mad at you for some reason." Rose wondered what she could have done to make him so angry. He had stared daggers at M'yri'ah most of their trip.

"I insulted him earlier." She remembered how mad J'edd looked right before her and Lex and had gone to the other universe to enlist the aid of the Justice League.

"What did you say to him?"

"Well, I more thought he looked stupid." M'yri'ah hadn't really meant to insult him at all. It had just been something that came to her mind. She hadn't expected J'edd to be listening to her thoughts at the time.

"He does kind of look silly." Rose tittered.

"I suppose it was mean." M'yri'ah said. "Some people might find me ugly in my natural form. I imagine it upset him more since I am also a Martian. We just don't look alike and it took me by surprise." His reaction was pretty extreme though.

Rose hesitated, already knowing the answer but asked anyway. "You are a Martian like J'onn?"

"Yes I am."

"You almost have the same last name. His name is J'onn J'onzz?" Rose inquired.

M'yri'ah knew she was trying to get information out of her. Despite the fact that she had been introduced as Maria Jones, Rose pronounced her first name the way J'onn said it. "We do have the same last name." M'yri'ah corrected.

"Are you his sister?" Rose asked hopefully.

This was the second time someone asked her if she was J'onn's sister in in the last few days. Really! They looked nothing alike. By her pleading tone M'yri'ah could tell Rose really was in love with J'onn. "No, I am his wife."

Rose looked horrified. "Oh God, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright." M'yri'ah shrugged, trying to let Rose know with her body language that she was not bothered.

"No, I tried to kiss him." She covered her face.

"I'm not mad at you Rose." M'yri'ah soothed her. She understood all too well. J'onn had been her knight in shining armor so to speak many times before. In her youth she had been so completely smitten by him. He had a quiet strength about him and a hidden playful side. When he asked her to marry him she couldn't say yes fast enough. "I understand. It's hard not to fall for him."

Rose nodded, not sure if she should even agree. "I'm still so embarrassed."

"Don't be." M'yri'ah said again, standing to run her hands along the walls. "Let's just find our way out."

"We aren't going to wait for J'onn?" Rose wondered.

"Of course not." M'yri'ah looked at the vents, seeing what lay behind them. The cuffs were preventing her from sliding through the grates. "We at least need to try to help ourselves first, right?"

"I suppose so." Rose decided to help M'yri'ah look for an escape. "Oh, can't you call J'onn with your mind?" She wondered. "Is it like a phone?"

M'yri'ah smiled at Rose. "It is a little like a phone, but no I can't. I can't hear him in this room." She couldn't hear him when she was in the conference room with Rose either.

"Do you think it's the metal room?"

The steel did seem odd. "I believe so. " M'yri'ah tried to get her fingers into the slats of the vent to try to pull it away from the wall. Rose got up and crossed the room to her. M'yri'ah could feel her excitement at maybe finding a way out.

"I think you almost have it." Rose encouraged.

It took M'yri'ah a moment to get some purchase on the vent cover, but she was finally able to get her fingers wedged into the grates. She held on tightly and propped her feet up onto the wall. She pulled with her arms and pushed with her feet, her whole body straining against the weight of it. The metal cover bent back but it was like it was made of rubber. When she let go, it just snapped back into place as if nothing had happened.

"Do you think you can slip past when it's pulled out?" Rose asked.

"These cuffs are doing something to me." It felt like it was affecting the elasticity of the upper half of her body. "I think if I tried I would be cut in half." And not in a way she could survive. "When I pull the vent away do you think you could slip through?"

"Yes." Rose was sure she could. "Do you think you can hold it long enough for me to go past?"

"I'm sure I can." M'yri'ah nodded.

"But if I go then you will be left alone." Rose looked very worried.

"I'll get you out first and then I'll worry about myself." M'yri'ah didn't want her to wait anymore. If at least one of them could escape it would be worth it. "There is no point in both of us staying here. At least if you can get away you can find J'onn and bring help." M'yri'ah braced herself on the wall again and got a good grip on the vent. "Ready?"

"Yes." Rose hunched down so she could try to get through quickly.

"Go!" M'yri'ah pulled with all her might and Rose slipped through the opening. Only when she was sure Rose was safely inside did she let it snap shut. "Are you alright?" It was a tight fit in there. She could only see Rose's legs. "Can you move?"

"Yes." Rose's voice was muffled. "I'll try to hurry."

"Make sure you're quiet if you need to be." M'yri'ah cautioned. "If you hear anyone underneath or around you hold still."

"Okay." Rose hated to leave her but the longer she stayed the longer it was going to take to bring back help. "Don't worry M'yri'ah. I'll get help."

"Be safe." M'yri'ah watched as Rose's feet disappeared. She looked around the room. In the meantime she would try to find another means of escape.

* * *

**Author's notes: I'm putting these out slow so my proof reader has a shot to go over my chapters. He still needs to read this one so there might still be a couple errors. I'll update as soon as he gives it an eyeball. I try to go over the chapters several times before I post them but I still manage to miss things.**

**This has been one of the most fun stories I've written so far. I write a bit mean (I loves me some villains) so if I go too far let me know. Thanks for the comments. I'll try to take them into account as I continue on. I do lots of rewrites before I post so if something seems odd please let me know.**


	7. Chapter 7

J'edd J'arkus was waiting on Ultraman's arrival. He had one of the maids make some coffee and refreshments. He didn't bother trying to keep the coffee warm. It was just for show anyway. Ultraman wouldn't eat anything he laid out for him but J'arkus knew he would complain if he didn't.

Ultraman still wasn't due for another thirty minutes so he had time to kill. J'arkus turned on the video monitor and peeked at the security footage for his special room. He watched with some amusement at M'yri'ah and Rose fumbled along the walls for an escape. Normally he didn't house two women in the same cell together as they could break through his security but that was what he was counting on today.

He knew M'yri'ah would be silly enough to lift the vent cover up enough for Rose to slip through and save the human rather than herself. Lex's crew was so predictable. After Rose escaped M'yri'ah seemed to double her efforts to check everywhere in the room for an opening in which she could escape. She even went into the bathroom and broke the glass, hoping it was a two way mirror.

He listened to the vents overhead as Rose made her way through them. He could hear her thoughts on finding a way out and then retrieving J'onn when she could. She seemed so worried, yet hopeful.

J'edd gritted his teeth and reminded himself to stay put. There was a part of him that sorely wanted to go up there and bring the ceiling down and her with it. He wanted to enjoy her face when she realized her last hope of escape was dashed. He closed his eyes and calmed himself. He reminded himself that he would have his fun later. He still had M'yri'ah to play with after all and she would be much more challenging and exciting to handle than a mere human.

When he felt Rose's presence go past his immediate range he sighed. Well, that took care of that. He held up his part of the deal.

J'edd was actually relieved when she was completely gone and escaped the building. Her thoughts invaded his mind quite often. Now that he was able to think again he was tickled how J'onn and M'yri'ah were surprised by J'onn's connection to her. They didn't know what the connection was and wondered if it meant something special.

Being so well traveled J'edd had met a few humans before that could communicate with him in such a way. They were simply meeting a human with higher mental abilities than normal and they had just so happened to speak in the same wave length.

Ultraman knocked on the doorframe to his living area, waking him from his thoughts. Ultraman had a habit of knocking even indoors to get someone's attention so he wouldn't startle them. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes." J'edd stood up out of respect and then sat down after Ultraman sat on the couch opposite him. He gestured to the refreshments and of course he wouldn't take them. He knew from his thoughts that Ultraman was afraid of him poisoning him. It was pretty ridiculous, considering he had nothing that could kill him. Only blue Kryptonite could harm him and Owlman had already stolen the kryptonite that Lex used against him from the Police station.

Ultraman crossed his leg and looked very comfortable with his elbow on the armrest. "Must be pretty important if you didn't want anyone else to know about it."

J'edd unconsciously mirrored his pose before he spoke. "I'm not really sure how many are in on it."

"Oh God, J'arkus." Ultraman pinched the bridge of his nose, looking quite pained. "Not more of this conspiracy theory crap."

J'edd was already getting annoyed with him but he still needed to voice his concerns. "You haven't even heard me out." He sat up in his chair, hoping with his body language he could convey the importance of what he was about to say.

"Alright, go ahead." Ultraman sat back in his chair and tried to look attentive.

"It's regarding the bomb Owlman is making." J'edd began and waited for Ultraman to comment if he wanted before continuing.

Ultraman made a sound of impatience but said nothing so J'arkus could continue.

"I don't think he's going to use it the way it's intended." J'edd said quietly. During their last meeting Owlman had mentioned needing the trigger. While J'edd didn't hear anything conclusive there were definitely some emotions and thoughts that raised red flags.

That got Ultraman's attention. "Like how?"

"I don't think he's going to use it for blackmail. I think he's intending to use it to blow up the Earth." He felt it ran deeper than that but he didn't want to sound completely crazy.

"I'm hearing a lot of I-thinks and not a lot of I-knows." Ultraman reasoned.

"I can read minds Ultraman. I even had one of his lackeys hack into his computer." J'edd said. "Things aren't as they appear. If you would just look..."

"Do you have anything definitive?"

"No." J'arkus frowned. "I just don't like how Owlman..."

"You don't like anyone." Ultraman interrupted.

"You know the way he thinks." J'arkus tried to reason with his thick headed teammate "You know he doesn't give a crap about any of this." He gestured around them. "He just wants it to end. I can see it in his eyes."

"So you want me to get rid of one of our biggest money makers because he has a look in his eyes?" Ultraman scoffed. "You've got to give me more to go on."

"But-!"

"Look, I don't want to have this conversation anymore." Ultraman said with finality. "Get with the program J'arkus, or get the hell out."

J'arkus' mouth made a thin line.

"Aw, don't look at me like that." Ultraman said. "Look, if you can get me some hard evidence that's one thing, but I can't make a move against him without it. You've got to understand."

"That's fine." If he didn't want to hear or see the evidence he had collected so be it. "It's your funeral."

Ultraman's frowned at that. J'edd was being rather disrespectful. "Are you threatening me?"

"No, I don't need to." J'arkus was so disappointed in him. "You'll find out I'm right soon enough."

"Whatever J'arkus." Ultraman dismissed him. "Just stay out of the way while we handle things. Maybe you've been working too hard. Why don't you take a trip or play with your new toy?"

"Oh, she is mine now? I thought we hadn't decided yet." J'arkus folded his arms across his chest.

"Superwoman was just having some fun with you." He tilted his head. "She knows what it means to you." At least he hoped she did.

Good because he was going to take her anyway. "Thanks." J'edd couldn't even bring himself to sound grateful. These fools could stay here while that nihilistic bastard destroyed the Earth. He supposed it was time to go back to Mars. The hell with them, he was going to take what was his and leave.

"Thanks for having me over." Ultraman was about to leave J'arkus' penthouse but then he stopped at the last moment. "Hey, J'arkus..."

"Yes?"

"That shit you said, keep it between us. We don't need problems right now." The way he said it, he meant business.

"Just you and me." J'edd agreed.

* * *

"I can't believe it!" Slade yelled, pacing back and forth in his office. He hadn't slept since Rose went missing. Two days and a whole night had passed and it was once again late in the evening. "I can't believe J'arkus took her."

J'onn sat down in a chair, his eyes were closed and he was concentrating. While he couldn't hear her thoughts he could at least feel that M'yri'ah was alive. Their connection was merely blocked, not severed. She was with Rose so hopefully that boded well for the two of them. He couldn't offer any comfort to Wilson though, he was insane with worry.

"Oh god. If it were any of the other members, maybe I wouldn't worry, but him!"

"What makes him so special?" J'onn wondered. "They are all murders and they all seem to enjoy hurting others." He could gather that from his brief encounters with them and from Lex's memories.

"All of them are murderers." Slade finally sat down. "But he's sick. He's into human trafficking for a business." He went on. "He and his wife used to rape and torture folks just for fun." It didn't really matter if you were a man or woman to them, they would take whoever they wanted but they were especially brutal to women. "He… I've seen the girls when he's done with them. They weren't right in the head afterwards. Oh God, Rose." He put his face into his hands. Slade closed his eyes. _He promised... _

J'onn had heard his thoughts loud and clear. "What did he promise?"

"What?" Slade opened his eyes.

"You had a thought just now. You thought J'arkus promised something. What did he promise you?" J'onn asked again.

Slade forgot he was dealing with a Martian. There was no point in hiding it anymore he supposed. "He promised he wouldn't take Rose."

"Why would he do that?" J'onn was starting to wonder if Slade hadn't just sent M'yri'ah with Rose to double her protection. He could guess, but he wanted Slade to admit it.

"Because I promised him M'yri'ah." Slade said. "He was Jay, the guard I gave you. You were always so close together he couldn't get you away from her."

That's why Slade wanted M'yri'ah to go alone with Rose. So J'edd could watch over Rose during the rally and then take M'yri'ah when she was finished with her speech. When that didn't work they changed the plan. "So you sent us both with your daughter, knowing we would be separated trying to protect her." One of them would stay to protect Rose on stage and the other would go after the archers. Either way they would have become separated long enough for J'arkus to snatch her away.

"Yes." Slade wanted to explain. "The Syndicate has been threatening my daughter since she began speaking out. He said if I gave him M'yri'ah he would find a way to protect Rose."

J'onn couldn't believe how treacherous humans could be. Slade was so worried about his daughter being abused by J'edd, but he was more than willing to offer up M'yri'ah to the same horrible fate. M'yri'ah had only meant to protect Slade and his daughter, how could he do this to her?

J'onn always tried not to judge people when they acted out of fear. He understood all too well what fear could do to a person. But this time, he wasn't sure he could forgive it. Not where his wife was concerned.

"I imagine you might like to kill me." Slade stood up and walked over to the window to peer outside.

"I would like to." J'onn said honestly.

"But you aren't." It was more of a statement than a question.

J'onn hesitated for a moment but then answered him. "No."

Slade sighed, he wasn't sure if he was relieved or not. Rose, dear God if she was alive. If and when she found out about this he didn't think she would forgive him this time. "Then you are a better man than I."

J'onn didn't need to be told that. "I know I am."

"Sir!" One of the secret servicemen burst into the room. "It's Rose!"

"Well?" Slade asked.

Rose appeared in the doorway, her arm was in a makeshift sling and her outfit was bloodied but intact, leading J'onn to believe that she was fine and someone else had bled on her.

"Rose!" Slade cried.

Instead of running to her father she ran to J'onn who just stood up from his chair. "J'onn!" Rose threw herself into his arms.

J'onn put his arm around her. Goodness knew what she had been through. She might have desperately needed the comfort.

"Oh Rose!" Slade couldn't believe his eyes. "Oh my baby!" He took her from J'onn and swung her around as if she were a little girl again. He was surprised his bad knee didn't give out.

"Daddy!" Rose hugged him around his neck. "I was so scared."

Rose hadn't called him daddy in a long time, not since her mother died. "It's okay now baby. It's okay." He pushed her away from him and looked her over. "Did that bastard do anything to you? Are you hurt?"

"No." Rose said softly. "They just kept me in a room before I escaped."

Slade had a stern look on his face and he held her again, trying to reassure himself of her presence. "They aren't going to get away with this."

"Rose," J'onn began. "Was M'yri'ah with you?"

"Yes." Rose pushed away from Slade this time. "They put these cuffs on that she couldn't get off. When she tried to break one of the vents in the room it's like it bent back into place. M'yri'ah pulled it open for me so I could leave but she couldn't get out." She tried to think of anything that could help find M'yri'ah. She knew most of what she said wasn't helpful at all. "We were in some sort of metal room. It looked like a studio apartment or a hotel room."

J'onn lips thinned. So she had been kept in some sort of Martian prison cell here on earth. "Is there anything else you remember?"

"I can't remember where I was." Rose apologized. "When I got out of the vents, I went to the bottom floor of the building." She didn't think she would be able to just walk out the front door without someone noticing her. "There was an escape to some underground subway tunnels. It took me forever to find workers just so I could get out." She couldn't lift the heavy covers to the street above so she had to go back and forth and she got hopelessly lost. "It was so dark in the tunnels and the room they kept us in had no windows. I could have been running around for hours."

"I wonder..." Slade began, straightening his beard as he had a tendency of doing when he was thinking.

"Dad?" Rose was hopeful from the sound of her father's voice.

"J'arkus runs brothels here on earth." Slade said, remembering a room like that. "All of his rooms are fitted to keep his property from running off. He takes some of his Martian girls and puts them to work in there."

"Dad," Rose looked horrified. "How do you know about those places?"

Slade looked embarrassed but he knew if he tried to lie, Rose would know. "After your mother died I got lonely. I just wanted to see her one last time."

"Oh God, dad." Rose covered her mouth with her hand.

J'onn interrupted them. "Where are these brothels?"

"That sidewinder has so many buildings." Slade explained. "It would take you days to check them all out. I might not even know about all of them."

"Then I guess I better get started." J'onn said. "In the meantime we have no idea where the Syndicate is hiding."

"Oh," Slade said, sounding quite happy to share all he knew. "But I do. You and the Justice League will be there by tomorrow. Don't you worry." A menacing smile formed on his mouth. "And you won't be alone. I'll be behind you shortly."

* * *

Owlman was sifting through pictures of Earth. Johnny was downstairs zipping around trying to put the bomb together for him, cursing every few minutes. Superwoman was standing behind Owlman staring so hard at him that she was practically boring holes into the back of his head.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Owlman wondered.

"You are acting strange." She crossed over to look at his profile.

"Don't I always?" He asked, he continued to stare at the screen.

"You know what I'm saying." Her voice sounded pouty. "Tell me." She tried to insert herself into his field of vision so he would pay her some attention.

He looked at her and felt an inkling of something. Hatred? Love? He didn't know but he felt he could trust her in this. "Well..." He grinned.

Superwoman took in a gasp of air. She loved that look on his face. He was going to tell her something she was going to like.

"What good is a bomb if you don't detonate it?" He let his words hang in the air while she deciphered them.

It took her a moment to process what he was saying. "You aren't going to use the bomb for blackmail are you?" She sounded disappointed. "Wait..." She paused. "Are you going to use it to kill everyone?"

Owlman continued smiling at her.

She was practically purring her approval and went to him. "Oh Thomas." She rested her head in the crook of his neck.

"I thought that might make you happy." With his typical stoic expression back in place he continued to scroll through pictures of Earth. They all looked very similar. "But I have something much bigger in mind than what you are thinking. I'm going to destroy them all."

He meant to destroy all the Earths? "But why?" She wondered, kissing his chin. "Why are you going to kill everyone? And how? You know I'm supposed to be the crazy one. It's part of what makes me so irresistible."

"I do love that about you." Yes, love. He was sure he loved her. It's why he put up with her at all. "I'm doing it because it's the only thing I can do that would give my life meaning."

"I don't understand."

"You know that the Justice League that fought us earlier came from another universe." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, Luthor brought them. Why?"

"For every decision we make another universe is made." He pointed to the screen and the pictures he was sliding through.

"Okay." She thought on that and understood the concept. "What?" She shook her head. "Why does that matter?" She looked at the screen for clarity.

"Let me show you." He said patiently. "If I destroy this earth we live on now, there will still be other universes that will still exist. Maybe there will be one world like this one in which I decide not to destroy the Earth. I could make that decision you know?" She nodded, following him so far.

"But there is an Earth that exists that is the blueprint for all other earths combined. All of them started with one Earth, before any decision was ever made." He showed her a grind of earths now, each represented by a light. "Let's say it's this one." He pointed at a speck of light. "If I destroy this world." He closed his hand around the light. "All earths would cease to exist." When he extinguished the orb all the other lights collapsed and died out on the screen. "It will be the only decision that would have any meaning." No other universes would ever spring forth ever again. Man's reign would finally come to an end.

It all looked quite beautiful to her. "That is amazing."

"Yes it is." Owlman said softly. "But I still need the trigger." He brought up the screen again and showed her yet another picture of Earth, the one in which the Justice League came from. "Luckily I found it. Luthor took it to this world here." He put his arm around her and whispered in her ear. "Could you do me a favor darling?"

"Yes, of course." She whispered back.

He pulled out something that looked like looked like a gun from his belt. It startled her at first but then Superwoman realized it was a dimensional device like the one Luthor had carried with him. He must have been able to replicate Lex's design. "Would you head over to the next universe, and get the trigger for me?" He handed her the dimensional device and she took it gladly.

"Anything for you." Superwoman kissed him. She felt Owlman's hand grip her ponytail, pulling her head back and twisting her neck so he could deepen their kiss. When he was finished he bit her lip, hard. He knew what she liked.

"Thank you, for understanding." He said against her mouth.

"I would do anything for you." She sighed contentedly, resting her head on his shoulder. "Will you do one thing for me in return?"

"What's that?" He wondered what she could possibly want.

"Wait until after tonight." She whispered in his ear. "I'll go in the morning."

A slow smile formed on his mouth. "I think I can manage that."

Johnny Quick was staring at a manual down below them, trying to make heads and tails of the design. He might be one of the fastest men alive but he couldn't help but think this would be much faster if Owlman would come down from his lofty tower above to explain these damnable blueprints. He soldered a metal plate in place. That looked about right? He looked at the blueprints again. Did he put it on upside down? Damn it all! "Hey up there!" He stared up and saw Superwoman and Owlman whispering close together.

"What is it?" Superwoman growled, not liking her time with Thomas being interrupted.

"Why aren't you helping?" Johnny called up to the two of them.

"I'm fine tuning the bomb." Owlman told him evenly. "I suppose I could come down there and help you with the grunt work, if you want it to go off on accident that is."

"Don't look at me." Superwoman made a show of draping herself over Owlman, "I'm just here to look beautiful."

"Fine." Johnny looked a little miffed. "Where's J'arkus?" It seemed like he and Ultraman were doing all the work.

"He's not here." Ultraman arrived with more parts and everyone became quiet suddenly. He really didn't want to talk about J'arkus or his whereabouts right now. "He's guarding the prisoners. One thing at a time."

"Hmph!" Johnny crossed his arms.

"Don't be so lazy." Ultraman called to him. "We're about done for the day."

Johnny grumbled as he soldered on another plate. When this was over he was going to take a vacation. He was getting really sick of being bossed around. Just a few more hours and they would be done.

* * *

**Author's notes: Okay, I lied earlier. Now things are going to start getting really mean. I'm really hammering out the details now. I'm working on the climax to the story. I believe I will have 15 chapters (or more) total including the epilogue when I'm finished. I thought this was going to be 8 chapters at most. Sheesh.**

**Get ready for some action in the next chapter. We get to visit with Batman and then M'yri'ah.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Martian Manhunter or any DC character. I have not now nor ever will make any money from their use in my fiction.**

* * *

It was days later and Batman was still at the Watchtower, working on fine tuning the sensors and early warning instruments. He couldn't help but think this would be going much faster if his five teammates hadn't abandoned him for another universe.

He let out a drawn out sigh and rubbed his face. He was tired. Once he was finished with this system he was going to rest for a while in his room in the Watchtower, but not until then. All the machinery had been put in place from before the other Justice League members left. He had simply needed to attach the wires and bolt the large computers to the floor.

Now there was the daunting task of the battery. The power source weighed more than he did and he would need to install it himself. At least he could count on a machine to help him lift things when Clark or Diana weren't around. He brought the mech suite into the room earlier for just this purpose.

He entered the heavy mech suit and felt himself yawning before he could stifle it. He buckled himself in and turned on the machine. The buttons and knobs began glowing as it powered up. It only took a few steps and then he lifted the battery in the air. He brought it the required four steps over and then he dropped the large battery down onto the slot. Now that was done.

The warning system was powering up now. The program moved slowly from room to room, testing the scanners and it giving him a report for each one. So far so good.

As he waited for all the rooms to come online he wondered how Diana was doing. She had been so eager to help Luthor and M'yri'ah. She had been very touched by J'onn's brief explanation of his wife and was happy to vote yes to go. He knew she would have gone anyway. She was always so happy to help those in need.

Diana was his opposite in many ways. She was innocent, honest and completely untouched by tragedy. Despite their differences she found herself attracted to him. He told her once that he couldn't be with her, that if anything ever happened to her because of who he was or what he did he would never be able to forgive himself. She told him she didn't care. She didn't need a protector, she simply wanted him and that was that.

One trait they did share was confidence and she was sure that she could wait him out. She had all the time in the world after all.

Part of him was annoyed by her gentle persistence. When she volunteered to go he thought her absence would be a welcome relief but as of late he had grown somewhat attached to her. He thought he would be happy this time when she was gone. He thought he could get more work done but his thoughts kept drifting back to her and how she was doing.

If he was honest with himself, really honest... He would say that he missed her and not just because he respected her as a teammate.

The software made a beep, telling him it was ready to go online.

He booted up the warning system and it almost immediately sprang to life, telling him there was an intruder onboard the Watchtower. He stared at the video monitor and saw a woman flanked by two men and an adolescent. He had never seen them before and they were wearing odd outfits. He had an inkling that they were not from around here and Lex and M'yri'ah might have attracted them to this world somehow.

Bruce would go down to greet them in his mech suite. He wasn't about to jump out of his armor just yet until he knew how strong they were.

* * *

"Stupid machine." Superwoman grumbled. She aimed it around the room and more confusing noise came out of it. What did all those beeps and chirps mean anyway? Owlman had told her what it meant, but it was oh so boring that she hadn't really paid attention to him at all.

"Mistress I think when it beeps louder and faster it means you are getting closer and when it clicks it means you are getting cold." The youngest of her Made Men offered helpfully. "Not that you didn't already know that." He added.

"Ah yes." She agreed with him. They made their way down a corridor until they were near a conference room. The dimensional device was louder now as she pointed it at a generator. Superwoman took hold of the machine and rather than look behind it she tore it from the wall and flipped it to the side. "Here it is." She lifted the tiny thing in her hands and wondered what the fuss was about. Then she really looked at it. She gasped at how beautiful the Quantum Trigger was. Owlman hadn't let her see it before, and she knew now why. It was something resembling a tube that held a light inside. It sparkled like diamonds in bright white light. She would be tempted to keep if she didn't know what it was for.

"I guess no one ever told you not to take things that didn't belong to you." Batman interrupted her greedy thoughts. Bruce wondered what she had in her hand and what was so important about it that she came all the way here to get it.

Superwoman looked up at Batman and from his profile she almost thought she was looking at Thomas. But no, this wasn't him. This must be his opposite. Owlman would never be caught dead in such a ridiculous metal suit either. "I was about to say the same thing."

"Hand it over." When he put his hand out his machine exoskeleton mimicked his actions.

"If you want it so badly," Superwoman took the trigger and slide it between her breasts so it was just visible. "Then take it from me."

Batman made a gesture at her, telling her that he would allow her and her men to strike him first.

Superwoman sneered at his daring. "Worm." He was little more than a human in a tin can. He couldn't possibly think that he had a chance against them. She and her compatriots jumped at the robot he was in and began wailing away at the metal and glass until Bruce was against a wall.

He let his arm fly out when he had an opening and sent them hurtling off into a computer he had painstakingly installed himself. They wasted no time and snatched up generators and other machinery to throw at him. He was starting to get annoyed. All his time and effort went into creating this place and they were destroying it in seconds.

Superwoman was the first to recover and flew back at him, ripping off the arm of the machine. She was about to impale Batman with it, making a show of standing over him. She wanted to see the fear in his eyes before he died.

His armor failed once the arm was torn off. He punched the release, launching him into the air. When he landed and stood up he felt himself being hauled backwards. His arms were wrenched behind him and were then pinned down to his sides in a vice like grip. He felt Superwoman press herself against his back.

"Mmm." She purred in his ear. She might not be able to do much with her hands but she rubbed her face into the side of his neck. "I can tell you are a handsome one." Her Made Men laughed, finding her toying with him funny.

The way she held him from behind was almost like an embrace. Diana had done something similar to him in a playful manner months ago but she hadn't restrained his arms like this woman was doing to him now. The more he struggled to break away the more excited she seemed to get. She was practically moaning in his ear. "Get off of me!" He managed to free one arm and send his elbow back into her face. It hurt his arm awfully. Hitting her was like hitting a steel wall, but she finally let go. She held her nose like it stung.

Bruce knew when he needed help. He sprinted as fast as he could down the hall to his computer by the teleporters.

When Superwoman recovered she watched him move like an acrobat to his destination and she couldn't help but be impressed. "You can't run from me darling." She called, chasing after him. Her goons followed them both to the teleporter room. "And you are hopelessly outnumbered."

Batman knew she wouldn't be able to resist playing cat and mouse with him. By the time she had arrived behind him he had already sent out an S.O.S. signal. "Guess again." He pressed a button on the keypad his unofficial teammates appeared on the Watchtower.

The Black Canary, FireStorm and Aquaman were there and ready to help. They didn't ask questions, quickly attacking the intruders while they still had the element of surprise.

Superwoman growled at this new development. While she might not have been able to resist playing with Batman, these new heroes complicated things. She was sure she and her men could take them but she really didn't have the time to deal with them.

Superwoman pulled out the dimensional device from her pocket, getting ready to escape. She slide her fingers between her cleavage to retrieve the trigger but it wasn't there. She checked again, pulling her tight uniform away from her skin just to look farther down to be sure. Nothing.

"Missing something?" Batman asked, getting her attention. He had the trigger in his hand.

Superwoman gasped, wondering when he had gotten ahold of it. She recovered quickly however, and put on a brave face. "Oh, you are just asking for it." She was more amused than anything.

She flew forward after Batman's retreating form. She almost had her hands on him when Aquaman had snuck up behind her and pulled her backwards. Rather than struggle forward she pushed them both back into a wall where she hammered him into the steel plates until he released her.

By the time she looked up Batman was on his way to the teleporters and she couldn't allow that. Who knows where he would get off to and she wasted enough time already. "Oh no you don't!" She was in front of him again in an instant, blocking his way. "I'm done playing around with you."

Her fingers wrapped around his throat so hard it was a wonder she didn't snap his neck. She wrenched the trigger from his hand. It was just as well, he needed both hands now to get her off his neck before she killed him.

Now that she had the trigger back in her possession she felt better. Superwoman felt like she deserved a little treat for her victory and brought him close to her. "Maybe I do have a little time for you after all." She purred against his lips.

"Mistress, forgive my impertinence but we need to leave." Her Made Man reminded. He had been told by Owlman to make sure she kept to her time table. Superwoman had a tendency to get distracted.

Superwoman looked like she was about to hit him, but then realized he was right. She thought the same thing only moments before. She sneered at Batman and tossed him away from her like a broken toy. She pushed the button on the dimensional device Owlman had given her, it was time to leave. She had only one Made Man with her but she couldn't wait for the others. "Goodbye little man. I had fun playing with you today."

Batman barely had a moment to recover from her strangling him. He got to his feet quickly and launched himself into Superwoman as she disappeared. Whatever that thing was, it was important enough to jump universes for. He couldn't let her just take it without a fight.

* * *

M'yri'ah let out a cry of frustration.

Rose could slip through the vents easily. Why couldn't she get out? She banged on the metal wall with her cuffs to no avail. They weren't even making a scratch. What the hell was this stuff made out of?

She sat down on the floor to rest a while.

The room looked like a maelstrom hit it. Everything that could be turned over had been. Everything that wasn't made of that metal or bolted to the floor with it had been toppled. The bed frame, couch and chairs seemed to be the only thing still standing. The torn mattress was on the floor near the chairs.

M'yri'ah heard the door unlock and she turned her head. J'onn was standing in the doorway. She could almost cry in relief. "J'onn." His name was little more than a whisper. Smiling, she stood up to go to him. "I knew you would come. I knew it."

He stepped inside and let go of the door and it locked behind him. "J'onn, wait!" She cried, not wanting him to get trapped in here too.

"My, you are fooled easily." J'arkus said in his own voice.

M'yri'ah's heart sank.

"I've seen that look before." J'arkus chuckled, crossing over to her and examining the cuffs around her wrists. "It looks like you've been a naughty girl." Her arms weren't behind her back like when she had been brought in. She tried stepping away but he kept her shackles easily within his grip. "Stop squirming." Surprisingly he took the cuffs off of her. When she stared up at him confused, he said. "Don't worry, they'll go back on. I'm just not worried about you escaping with me here."

"I could hurt you." She threatened, rubbing her wrists.

"Oh," He sounded like nothing would please him more than to burst her bubble. "I would love to see you try." He had a seat. He still kept his disguise on to look like J'onn even though she knew who he was. She wondered why he didn't reveal himself. "Having a hard time getting out I see." He had a look around the room, evidence of her trying to escape all around him. He pushed the mattress near him with his foot so he would have more room to spread his legs out.

"Yes." She crossed her arms over her chest, glancing around at the wreckage of the room. "I suppose so."

"I'm not surprised." He said calmly. "This room is built for girls like you."

"Like me?"

"Don't be stupid woman." J'arkus said, pushing the tattered remains of the blanket off the couch cushion beside him. "Martian women of course." Then J'arkus remembered. "Well, I had to make a few adjustments for you, since you don't like the heat and my women don't like the cold." There were several boobytraps she hadn't sprung yet.

"There are others?" M'yri'ah asked. "Martians other than the ones you had with you?" Rose said there was at least one other.

"Of course." He said in a conversational tone.

"In my world, I was the only one left." She said. "Mars is a dead planet."

"Well, here it is a little different." J'arkus gestured for her to have a seat beside him.

"No thank you." She politely refused.

"You can sit, or I can make you sit." J'arkus said. "It is your choice." He noted with a smile that she decided to sit across from him instead. "I don't really think you understand the gravity of the situation you are in right now." She took a moment then sat next to him like he asked the first time. "Good girl." He put his arm around her shoulder, as J'onn might have to be affectionate only J'edd was doing it to frighten her.

M'yri'ah looked at his hand on her arm, if she couldn't read his thoughts she would have been sure this was J'onn. He made such a convincing copy, even down to the cuticles on his fingernails. "What are you going to do with me?"

"I haven't decided yet." He let his words hang in the air while he examined the nails on his freehand. He was rather proud of himself.

M'yri'ah knew this wasn't going to make a difference, but she thought she would say it. "I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have thought what I did." She shouldn't have thought he looked like an idiot. Surely there were other Martians out there that looked similar to him and it was insulting to them as well.

"Well, aren't you sweet?" J'arkus scoffed, letting his hand fall into his lap. "If I didn't know you were sincere it would piss me off, but I suppose I will forgive you."

"Thank you."

"Hm." He crossed his legs at the knee and remained quiet.

"Why do you keep Martian women in this room?" She asked. She supposed she really didn't want to know but the silence was deafening.

"For my guests..." Was all her offered and was quiet again.

"I don't understand."

"My, you are so innocent." J'edd said, laughing a little. He turned his head to look directly at her. "They have sex with my guests."

"Oh." She then asked, looking away from his intense gaze. "They do this willingly?"

"I can't tell if you are being intentionally stupid." J'arkus said. "They are slaves."

"Why would you have Martian slaves?" She knew he didn't like humans and he was a mean bastard but to do that to his own people...

"Because they can shape shift into any form my guests require." J'edd explained. "It is very profitable."

She shuddered in revulsion. "So this is a whore house?" Suddenly the setup of the room made a lot more sense.

"Well, this place isn't." His thumb absently stroked her shoulder. "This is in my own private building. This is the only room like it here." This was one of his many safe houses, but he wasn't going to let her know that.

"I see." She didn't really want to know any more and was sorry she asked.

"M'ar'leen and I liked to keep at least one girl around to play with." He went on, knowing how uncomfortable she was with the subject. "We had so much fun together." He could recall those nights fondly. M'ar'leen had been so sadistic, a woman after his own heart. He could only wish she was here with him right now to share M'yri'ah with him.

"Your wife." M'yri'ah wondered if it was true what they said about him killing her.

"Yes, my wife." J'edd frowned, hearing her thoughts. "Your little friends in the Justice League killed her."

That was news to her. "I heard that you killed her."

"I guess they would say that, wouldn't they? Then I can be an even bigger monster." J'arkus growled. "I did love M'ar'leen in my own way. I imagine, like your J'onn loves you." He stared at her. "It wasn't hard to see through your terrible acting back at the White House. He stares at you as if he wants to tear your clothes off even when you look like a pitiful human." He said, chuckling. "You must be such a tease."

M'yri'ah wondered if M'ar'leen's death was the reason everyone in her Justice League was killed off. Her death seemed to coincide with the Syndicate attacked the Justice League now that she thought about it.

"Why do you think everyone died so quickly? They had to pay for killing my M'ar'leen." J'arkus had no trouble convincing the other crime lords to go along with him. They had normally treated the Justice League like the pests they were but after M'ar'leen they needed to be taught a lesson. "It was easy to orchestrate all their deaths, my henchmen can blend in quite well as you can tell. It was easy to get them alone and have my teammates take them out separately. Cold of course died the most painfully. I wasn't finished with him until a few days ago."

She got quite the visual from his mind just then. "Oh God."

"Yes, oh God." J'edd smiled, remembering. "He's the one who killed her. I couldn't just let him get away with it."

She couldn't say anything to that. While she hadn't tortured him, she had killed Malefic for betraying all of her people. J'onn had killed him in his world, seeking vengeance against him for killing his wife and child and everyone else on Mars.

"You two are just as sick as I am." J'edd said, gleeful to get such information from her.

She wondered how he could read her so easily. No matter how she tried to block him he could get inside. It was infuriating.

"We are attuned. My mind is like your husband's and your mind is like M'ar'leen's so you can hide very little from me." he said. "I can even hear that stupid girl in my head like he can." He wished he could kill Rose just to shut her up.

M'yri'ah thought that maybe she should clear her thoughts for a while so he couldn't read her.

J'edd smiled at her. He was not going to let her hide from him so easily. "What do you really look like underneath that disguise of yours?"

That got her attention. "Only my family is supposed to see." M'yri'ah said quickly.

He found that hard to believe. "Your husband doesn't seem to mind showing the world what he looks like."

"I'm not sure why he does that." M'yri'ah shook her head. She thought maybe J'onn was going through some identity issues or maybe he had been alive so long he just didn't care. She couldn't tell really. She hadn't had the chance to ask him yet. "Maybe because Mars is gone he feels like the rules no longer apply."

"Hm."

She really hoped he wouldn't push the issue.

"Come now M'yri'ah." J'arkus stood up, and took her hand so she would stand with him. "Take off your clothes." Again when she hesitated he said. "You know I can make you do what I want, so you might as well do it willingly." She still didn't change. "Have it your way." He took her head in his hands and peered into her mind. She tried to pry his hands off her but he held fast. He found that private part of herself and dragged it forward. She struggled and whimpered as her body began to morph against her will. It was a painful process he could tell.

"Please." She pleaded with him. "Please don't."

"You beg so nice." He said softly. When she was finally herself he let her go. "There you are."

She looked like she was about to cry and recoiled away from him. Not even Malefic and done that to her.

"You are being so dramatic over such a silly thing." J'edd told her. Her face and body almost looked the same as when she was in her human friendly form. He didn't know what the fuss was about. "Hold still and this will be over soon." He circled around her to get a good look at her. He knew she found his staring deeply upsetting but did it anyway. "You're heads are long." He reached out to touch the back of her head and she flinched. Her shrinking didn't stop him, however, and he ran a hand along her head firmly. She shuddered unintentionally and he smiled. "So you like being touched here."

J'edd wondered at her body. She had breasts and had the the shape of a woman down below but almost appeared to be sexless at the same time. He gleaned from her memories that her husband was built much the same as her in this regard. Everything was there; it was just below the surface. When they had sex they merged mentally and then physically together below their skin. It was all rather disgusting looking. While he had no interest in participating in their mating rituals, it was good to know in case he needed to force the issue.

M'yri'ah said nothing, willing herself to stop flinching away from him and cowering. She knew that it was just her body, but it had been so deeply ingrained in her since a young child to not show anyone what she truly looked like unless they were close family and sometimes even then it was limited. Her own mother had been so private about her true form that only her father had seen her past her adolescence. While J'onn wore clothing over most of his body and didn't completely take on his natural shape she didn't know how he could stand walking around the way he did.

When J'arkus was satisfied that he tormented her enough he finally stopped touching her. "I suppose you are pretty enough."

As soon as he let go of her mind she changed back to her usual shape. "For what?"

"To sell." He said. "After I'm finished with you of course. Although maybe I should keep you around." He seemed to be weighing his options as he circled her again. "You have "M'ar'leen's voice and you are so obedient." She also looked very similar to M'ar'leen when she chose to look near human.

M'yri'ah was starting to lose her fear, and began to get angry instead. She frowned at his words, thinking she didn't really have a choice in the matter but to be obedient for now.

J'edd heard her thoughts. "How right you are."

"Why are you still dressed like my husband?" She wondered.

"Because it makes you uncomfortable." He said, looming over her. "More uncomfortable than the way I look naturally."

M'yri'ah tried hard not to roll her eyes at him. She wished he would just do what he came here to do and just end it already. She was tired of his games.

"Oh, my dear, you are so eager. What I have planned for you isn't going to be quick or painless." He said. "And you don't have to worry. I'm not going to do what you are so afraid of."

She almost felt relieved, although she wasn't sure why. His promises meant nothing. "You aren't?"

"No, not yet. I'm not so crude." He promised, holding her face in his hand. "But I do guarantee by the end of what I have intended for you that you will be begging for my bed. You'll beg me to be kind and show you pleasures instead of pain. If you cry nicely enough I may give in and give you what you want."

He was more disgusting than she imagined. "I doubt that."

He gave her a smile. He really did love a challenge. "I have so many ideas." He pulled her next to him and talked into her ear, just as J'onn had done to her back behind the podium. "Back on Mars I have a nice spit for you. It will be fun to burn your skin off a little at a time."

She found herself on her stomach with her arms being pulled behind her back. He cuffed her again.

"And this is just for insurance."

She felt a strap wind tightly around her neck.

"You probably heard of an inhibitor collar before?" J'arkus said as he buckled it on. "It can make you as pathetic as any human." He hauled her to her feet. "But don't worry, I won't turn it on unless you try to run." He went to the door with her in tow and it seemed to unlock for him. "I'll call my car and on the way over to my transporter we can have a little fun."

She wondered if J'onn would be able to hear her again when she left the room.

"He'll be able to hear you. He'll just not know where you are." He went on to explain. "This is usually my favorite part."

* * *

**Author's notes: I love how when the Martians are in their natural form they are totally nude but there is nothing there. It just makes you wonder doesn't it?**

**I'm not sure what his deal is in the movie - but J'onn seemed to be closish to his true form so that's what I assumed he was doing (like in the comic when he was acting all weird). He just needs to split the back of his head off into two points and make himself more spiky looking (in the movie) and he'd be good to go.**


	9. Chapter 9

Batman landed on the ground with a thud. He hopped to his feet and away just as Superwoman's Made Man took a swipe at him for getting too close to his mistress.

Superwoman held her hand up in a gesture that told her henchman to pause. "Well," She began, "Since you came all this way just to see me I guess I'll have to entertain you." She smiled at her Made Man, beckoning for him to come closer. When he did she dropped the Quantum Trigger into his palm. She noted that he treated the trigger much more gingerly than she did. "Take this to Owlman right away."

He closed his hands over the trigger and did a half bow. "Yes, ma'am." He eyed Batman. "Do you need help before I leave?"

"Of course not. I'll be just fine." She told him. "I needed some exercise anyway." She kept her eyes on Batman as her lackey disappeared from her sight. Only when she heard the door close behind him did she speak. "It's just you and me."

Batman said nothing and threw a slew of batarangs at her.

Superwoman thought of dodging them, but thought better of it. Why not let him hit her and see for himself what his little toys could do?

Batman tried not to make a sound when his weapons struck her. One hit her at an odd angle and just bounced off her skin. The two others managed to inflict superficial cuts on her arm and leg.

"I hope that's not the best you can do." Superwoman taunted, starting toward him.

"Not by a long shot." He answered back. When she came in close her went on the offensive, striking at her face and body with his arms. She smiled sweetly to him and held still again, wanting to let it sink in how powerless he was compared to her.

She caught his fist and twisted his arm until he had to kneel before her. "Not so tough without your little machine to hide in are you?"

"We'll see." He grunted. No longer worried about hurting her, he left a small explosive charge on her chest. She shouted in surprise when it went off and let him go.

Superwoman checked herself for damage, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. "We are going to have so much fun together." She was initially surprised that he had used such a weapon against her, but she was beginning to feel excited again.

Batman used her own movements against her. As she came at him he would twist her arm just so, causing her to lose her balance and sending her careening to the floor. After several more attempts she decided to be a little more quick and forceful and began to connect with him. He was going to need to end this soon and before she was bored.

Superwoman still went slowly of course, sure to not give him all she got. It wouldn't do for her to break him and end all her fun. "You are so agile." She purred, watching him dodge her attacks. "I like that in my men."

He sprinted off, needing to create some space between them in order for his plan to work.

When he got too far away from her she merely blasted out a part of the heavy ceiling with her heat vision. Heavy chunks of marble landed directly on top of him. "You can't leave yet." Her voice sounded pouty. "We're just getting started."

Bruce growled, trying to give himself the strength mentally to free himself. His legs were pinned under a slab of rock. It was a miracle they weren't broken but he didn't know how long that would last if she got to him. He struggled for leverage to lift it off of him but it was simply too heavy. He cursed lightly, Superwoman was nearly on him.

"Here." She said gently, as someone might a frightened animal. "Let me get that." She kneeled down next to him and easily flipped the stone off of him. "You remind me of my boyfriend." She said, leaning down to look him in the eye. "Why don't you become my pet? I will be good to you." Her hand was on his throat faster than he could react. There was a gentle pressure, not painful but she was cutting off the blood flow to his brain and making him feel light headed. Suddenly she was kissing him, her tongue invading his mouth. She finished by biting his lip hard enough to draw blood.

"I'm not interested." Batman swung at her and she caught his fist easily.

"That's going to cost you." Superwoman sounded gleeful. "Let's see…" She let her hand run down his body, trying to think about what she could break on him so they could continue their game of cat and mouse. Not a leg or arm, no that would make things too easy. Her hand came to rest on his ribcage. She pushed her thumb against the hard bone she felt underneath, snapping it and causing him to gasp in pain. "That's what happens to bad little boys."

He felt himself wilting from the pain for a moment, but he gained control of himself. This wouldn't be the first or last time he broke a rib. To hell with it, he didn't want to be so close when this went off but it was his only chance to get away from her. He threw down a canister that exploded in a cloud of smoke. He only just managed to get his mask over his mouth before he got out from under her. He didn't run too far from her, staying just near the edge of the gas cloud. In order for his plan to work she needed to stay put and it wouldn't do if she was racing after him.

"You think you can hide from me using smoke?" Superwoman laughed as the haze blinded her. She sucked in a great lungful of the air around her, taking in the cloud of smoke and clearing her vision.

Bruce appeared from the clouds with a mask around his mouth and nose. "That wasn't smoke."

"What?" Superwoman looked around; her vision began to dance back and forth.

"It was anesthetic gas." Bruce informed her.

She coughed and a wisp of vapor escaped her lungs. That would be something Owlman would pull on her when he got into one of his moods. "Oh, you are the worst." She collapsed in a heap on the floor. It wasn't long before she was snoring soundly.

Now that he had a moment he allowed himself to bend over in pain. Every place she hit him felt like it was swollen and bloody. He grit his teeth and sucked it up. He needed to get that device back, but where to start? Unfortunately he was out of the loop and had no idea what was going on here. Bruce needed to summon his friends. He pressed on the comlink in his ear. "Batman to the Justice League."

* * *

Johnny Quick was looking impatient and irritated at the lack of seats that were being occupied in the conference room. Both J'arkus and Superwoman were absent. "Why did I even bother showing up?" He asked out loud. "Are J'arkus and Superwoman playing around somewhere together without you again Owlman?"

Owlman frowned at that. He was referring to a time when Superwoman asked him to "play" with J'arkus and M'ar'leen. He went along with it simply because she asked and he had nothing better to do at the time. She had a good time, being able to take some of their more serious punishment but it hadn't been the most pleasant experience for him. Unfortunately word had gotten out. It was all rather humiliating.

Johnny and Power Ring seemed to enjoy his expression enough to laugh.

"I sent J'arkus on a vacation." Ultraman interrupted their merriment. When Power Ring gave him a questioning look he clarified. "No, a real vacation. He's not dead. He's probably playing around on Mars with that M'yri'ah girl he stole a couple days ago."

"If he is there on Mars then where is Rose?" Power Ring asked. "Isn't she our insurance that the U.S. won't nuke us?"

Ultraman shrugged. "Probably starving to death in some cell or he might have sold her." It didn't seem to matter to him one bit. "I'm calling the meeting to order without Superwoman. Owlman?"

"The bomb is nearly complete." Owlman gave his report. "Superwoman is out doing an errand for me." Owlman said. "I located the trigger and-" He saw someone coming into the conference room out of the corner of his eye. "And here we are." He smiled.

"I'm sorry to interrupt." Superwoman's Made Man came through the sliding door. "But my mistress said to bring this directly here."

"Yes, thank you." Owlman took the Quantum Trigger from him and stared at its beautiful glow in his hand. Finally, at long last he would have what he always wanted. "Well gentlemen," He wore a chilling smile. "Who wants to come with me and help finish this bomb?" His associates were all looking very happy and couldn't wait to volunteer their services.

* * *

"Batman to the Justice League." J'onn heard Batman's voice in his ear. So he had decided to come along after all. "I have one of your Crime Syndicate friends." Bruce said, not sounding too concerned. "She's knocked out but I'm not sure for how long."

"I can see from the signal on your comlink that you are in Superwoman's home." Lex told him. "I'll send everyone directions. Just stay put. We'll all be right there soon."

"I'm on my way." J'onn told them. He supposed that solved him needing to call a meeting together to impart his knowledge of the Syndicate's hideaway. He felt it was a waste of time to do so. He could easily just think the information into his friends' heads, but it bothered some of his teammates to have him inside their minds, so he would respect their wishes.

On his way to Superwoman's hideaway J'onn felt M'yri'ah's presence emerge once again and he sighed in relief. He stopped on top of a building to concentrate.

_"__J'onn."_ He heard her say his name softly, like she was trying to whisper.

He felt something or someone blocking him from pin pointing her location. When he saw through M'yri'ah's eyes, they were darting around inside a building trying to find something to help him find her. They left a room and were walking along a long hall. She got into an elevator with fifteen stories. They were in a garage soon and someone was pushing her into a limousine.

She started feeling panicky when she couldn't see outside the windows.

_"Please calm down M'yri'ah."_ J'onn said. _"Can you tell me where you are?"_

_"I don't know."_ M'yri'ah's eyes fell on J'arkus, who was still wearing J'onn's shape.

_"__I can hear the two of you."_ J'edd said calmly. _"No point in acting so shy."_

From M'yri'ah's vantage point J'arkus seemed so wickedly contented at having so much power over someone else. With J'edd looking nearly the same as himself it reminded him of his brother Malefic. _"You should let her go."_ J'onn told him, but he already knew how he was going to answer.

_"__I could… but I'm not going to."_

J'onn watched through M'yri'ah's eyes as he reached for her neck. Suddenly he felt all traces of her mind disappear and he gasped.

_"__Relax, I didn't kill her."_ J'edd said, sounding bored. _"I just turned on her inhibitor collar. I wanted to speak with you in private."_

J'onn could hear M'yri'ah's muffled voice in J'edd's mind as she spoke with him. He could see through J'edd's eyes now. M'yri'ah was sitting with him, her arms cuffed behind her back. _"What do you want with her anyway?"_

_"__Lex's pets took my M'ar'leen, so I've decided to take her back."_ J'edd said, tugging M'yri'ah by the collar to sit closer to him. _"I'd much prefer to have M'ar'leen but maybe having a sweet obedient wife will be just as good."_

_"__M'yri'ah isn't your wife."_ J'onn growled.

_"__She isn't yours either."_ J'edd countered. _"Her husband is dead. I imagine he would be rather upset at the two of us if he were here right now."_ He sounded like he was having a good time. _"Tell me that if he were still alive and you saw M'yri'ah that you wouldn't just try to take her from him."_

_"__I wouldn't."_

_"__No, of course not."_ J'edd didn't sound like he believed him at all. He allowed J'onn to see M'yri'ah through his eyes again. He ran the back of his hand over her face and she jerked away from him. _"She is so weak J'onzz."_ He seemed to both love and hate that about her. _"I bet it won't take much time to break her. How many hours do you think it will take for her to beg me to stop?" _He put his arm around her again. _"How many hours until she betrays you and begs me to take her instead of hurting her?"_

_"__I will come for her."_ J'onn promised. _"And if you touch her I'll kill you."_

_"__Well, aren't you full of surprises?"_ J'edd was shocked that J'onn would threaten him in such a way, considering what his friend had said about the Justice League not killing.

J'onn realized from J'arkus's thoughts that J'edd had been present for when Slade had announced his release of Ultraman.

J'arkus wasn't worried about J'onn's threats. _"I hope you do come."_ J'edd said wickedly. _"I don't mind adding you to my collection as well Manhunter. Husbands and wives are my favorite you see. I'll let you watch. Maybe I'll even share her with you if you are lucky."_

J'onn felt revulsion course through him at his words.

_"__The two of you are such prudes."_ J'edd laughed. _"I'll be on Mars if you want to find me." And with that he was gone._

* * *

Everyone rallied at Superwoman's mansion. By the time Wonder Woman arrived Clark had already twisted a couple metal girders around Superwoman's body to keep her from escaping.

Batman stood there, waiting on Lex to arrive so he could find out what in the world happened and what had been left on his ship. He knew it had to be either him or M'yri'ah who hid it. When Lex finally showed up, he was about to make his way over to him when Diana blocked his path.

"Batman!" Wonder Woman was so happy to see that he was safe. "You're alright." When he didn't move to her, she hugged him and he grunted in pain. "What is it?"

"It's nothing." He pushed her away from him.

Sensing something was amiss Lex tried his best to keep his face straight when Bruce went straight at him.

"What did you hide on my station that was so important they had to come to my universe to get?" Bruce demanded, grabbing the neckline of Lex's armor.

Lex was tight lipped and looked guilty.

"What was it?" He repeated.

"It's the trigger and power source for their bomb." Lex admitted. "I hid it in your world to keep it safe."

Bruce looked like he sorely wanted to hit him but released him instead.

"You hid a bomb detonator on the Watchtower?" Superman asked incredulously. "Why didn't you get rid of it?"

"It's not something that can be destroyed." Lex explained. "It's the power source to the bomb. It could destroy more than just the world. It could create a reaction and blow the whole damn universe up."

"So you left it in our world?" Superman was starting to sound as mad as Bruce. "And you didn't tell anyone?"

Maybe M'yri'ah had been right, maybe he should have said something after all. "It was harmless there. I doubt anyone of you would have tried to create a bomb with it."

"Enough." Bruce said. He didn't want to hear any more of his excuses. "Obviously we need to get it back now."

"They'll have taken it to their hideout." Lex could never find it, despite his years of searching. "But we don't have the first clue where to look."

"Yes we do." J'onn appeared behind Bruce, startling him for once. "The President told me where their base of operations is. I'd hazard to guess that's where they will be building the bomb."

"Where is M'yri'ah?" Flash asked when she didn't appear immediately behind him.

"She was captured by J'arkus." J'onn explained what had happened during the rally up to the point where Rose escaped and returned home and Slade's knowledge of the Syndicate's base on Earth's moon.

"I heard about Rose on the news but..." Lex ran a calming hand over his bald head. "Oh God, M'yri'ah."

Slade had the same reaction. It was starting to worry him. "J'edd let me hear her before he took her away. He said they would be going to Mars." J'onn said. "Obviously there are more Martians here than in my world."

Luthor looked upset at this new development. "Mars is intact here. There was never an extinction event like in your universe." He wanted to explain before J'onn asked. "J'edd runs a slave trade up there. He keeps the locals in line with bombs that could blot out the sun and freeze everyone to death." He already had this system in place years before the syndicate thought to use it here on Earth.

"M'yri'ah never said anything about Mars being alive." It seemed like something she would mention.

"She doesn't really know about it." Luthor said. "I never mentioned it to her before because there was nothing we could do at the time. The earth has been dealing with issues of its own. We couldn't fight J'edd's men on another planet and still protect the earth too."

"We should go get her back." Hal suggested, looking at his ring. "I can take us there in no time."

"But we need you to take us to the hideaway." Lex reminded. "We need to deal with them first. They are building a bomb that could destroy the Earth remember?"

"J'onn," Wonder Woman put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "After we deal with the Syndicate I promise we will all go after her."

"If she lasts that long." Luthor was so conflicted. He wanted to save his last friend in the Justice League, but the whole world was at stake. "One of our members, Cold, theorized that he could use ice to hurt the Martians here since they don't share your fear of fire. He used a freezing device on M'ar'leen. He only meant to stun her but… she didn't die well." Lex admitted. "After Cold killed his wife, J'edd has been obsessed with getting M'yri'ah to even the score. He's been sending me letters. I didn't want to share this with her." He didn't even share this information with the Jester. "I didn't want to upset her."

Obviously Lex had found a way around lying to M'yri'ah. He simply didn't tell her anything at all even when it involved her. "I don't think J'edd is going to kill her." J'onn said, although with as unbalanced as he was he wouldn't put it past him. "But I'm not leaving him to torture her either." He looked at Clark. "I'm sorry I won't be there with you when you save the world. I'm going after her alone." The world was ending and he couldn't ask his friends to help him.

"Remember the locals are on J'edd's side because they are afraid of him. He's not weak himself" Lex reminded. "You might be better off waiting for us. They could kill you."

With as worried as Lex was he was surprised he was still arguing with him. "I'm not leaving my wife to be raped and butchered. I'm going." J'onn said with finality.

"You'll need a way to get there fast." Lex nodded. At least J'onn knew what he was getting into. "I made a copy of the machine that brought J'edd here years ago. It's back at the Watchtower if they didn't destroy it. It's not perfected like J'edd's though. There could be some delay."

Great, what else could go wrong? "How much delay?"

"A day, maybe more?" Luthor didn't know. "It would take longer to fly there or go by space craft, that's for sure."

What other choice did he have? "That will be fine."

After J'onn relayed the information about the Syndicate's hideout on the moon Clark took hold of the group. "Alright. We know where we need to go. Let's just be careful. That bomb can blow up a planet."

"Ha!" It seemed Superwoman had woken up finally. "You fools think much too small."

"What do you mean?" Hal took the bait.

"He isn't just going to blow up this planet." Superwoman snickered. "He's going to destroy this Earth and every Earth in all the universes."

"So you're just going to blow it up?" Lex couldn't fathom why they would want to do that. They seemed to enjoy the death grip they had on the Earth's riches far too much. "You aren't going to use it to hold over our heads?"

Hal sighed. Lex was missing the big picture. Who cared about blackmail when the fate of all worlds hung in the balance? This seemed right up his alley. "And how is he going to do that? How is he going to destroy all the Earths?"

"I'm not actually clear on the details myself." Owlman had explained it to her, but it was so convoluted she had no way of relaying the information to them. "But believe me Owlman is going to kill you and everyone else."

"She's convinced that what she's saying is true." J'onn said, reading her mind.

"If Owlman is Batman's equivalent then there might be some truth to it." Hal guessed that Owlman would also be incredibly smart, if not just as unbalanced in a bad way. It didn't help to be cautious even if what she said wasn't true. "No offence Bats."

"We should probably go now." Lex said, tired of wasting time. "Whether it's a world or a universe at stake we won't be here long if Owlman plans on detonating the bomb."

J'onn didn't want to wait any longer himself. "The President will be coming after you shortly so you won't be alone. He wasn't happy about his daughter being kidnapped." He knew this could very well be the last time he saw his friends. "Good luck on the mission."

"I'll come if I can." Superman promised.

"Thank you Clark." And J'onn was gone.

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**Author's notes: Thank you so much for your reviews. I love reading them. Things are going to get worse before they get better especially this next chapter won't be pretty, but your patience will be rewarded in the twelfth and thirteenth chapter.**

**I forgot to mention something when I first posted this chapter. I'm not sure if this particular version of Superwoman has heat vision. I need to watch the movie again but I don't remember seeing her use it (her lasso is missing too). I have seen her use it in the comics so I'm just going with that.**


	10. Chapter 10

_Warning: This chapter contains situations that some might find disturbing._

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M'yri'ah gasped in pain when she finally felt herself become whole again. She would never get used to going through that transporter.

J'arkus laughed at her when the light that took them to Mars wore off. "Smarts don't it?"

"I've gone through it before." She told him when she recovered.

"Have you?" J'arkus grabbed the chain between her hands. He had traded her shackles in for something that resembled handcuffs. They still worked about the same way, when she tried to shift around them they would shrink and bend. He put them on her so it was easier to drag her around.

"Where are we?" She looked around the room they arrived in. She noticed that the transporter he used hadn't caught on fire like the one in Erdel's lab. "Is this where you live?" The building they were in looked like a high domed room with very little in the way of furnishings. It almost looked abandoned.

"God no. This is just where my transporter is." He shook his head at her. "Where would I eat and sleep?"

M'yri'ah didn't reply to that and let him lead her out of the building. She gasped when she saw how beautiful it was outside. It looked like they were in a forest. She couldn't believe it. Mars hadn't looked so full of life in a very long time. There were trees and plants growing. A small river flowed off to the side. She could feel people in the far distance. She could almost forget for a moment that J'arkus was just behind her.

"Get a good look." J'edd wasn't about to let her forget him. "You aren't going to see this again."

M'yri'ah frowned at him.

"It's almost nightfall." He said, looking at the sky.

M'yri'ah didn't quite know what that was supposed to mean. Rather than flying to their destination he merely had her walk by his side along a path through the foliage. They walked, and walked and walked. She wondered if he was making her do some sort of death march. It made her think of when the White Martians were making her people all walk in a line to be processed. She and K'hym had been so frightened and J'onn had done his level best to comfort them quietly. He put his arm around her shoulder, his cape shielding her back from the punishing sun. He held K'hym's hand to the other side of him as they trudged along. As long as they were all together everything was fine. Everything would be alright.

And then they took their daughter and that was the last time she saw K'hym alive.

J'arkus could hear her thoughts of course, and put his arm around her like J'onn had. It annoyed her. She wished he would leave her alone and stay out of her head for a moment so she could gather her thoughts.

J'edd led her to a clearing where it looked like others had made camp before. There were a couple of overturned logs flanking a fire pit. He sat her down on one of the logs and grabbed her by the collar around her neck to get her attention. "I'm going to go somewhere for a moment." He warned. "Don't make me turn this on again, or you are going to be pretty pathetic until we get home to the release." He let go of the collar. "And if it's on and you get too far away from me, let's just say… I hope you don't lose your head."

M'yri'ah glared at his back when he left the clearing. He had turned on the inhibitor while he spoke to J'onn and left it on until just before they arrived on Mars. J'arkus kept a shut off in the building that housed his transporter. He might have been tempted to leave it on if he didn't know that blocking her telekinesis would also somehow remove her fear and vulnerability to fire.

Usually inhibitor collars were used for super powered inmates in prisons so human guards could handle them. The machines that were used to turn the collars off were designed to be quite large so they couldn't be taken by an inmate without someone noticing them. That meant that J'arkus couldn't easily take an on and off switch around with him for her collar. Not that she thought he would mind if her collar was turned on again. He seemed to enjoy having power over her and the more the better.

M'yri'ah sensed J'edd was very close by and appeared to be sweeping the area. She hoped he stayed away as long as possible. She was getting tired of him threatening her all the time and expecting a response out of her. He was such a coward. He was older than her, therefore much stronger mentally and physically and yet he had her shackled and had an inhibitor around her neck. It was overkill.

"You might want to mind your thoughts around me." J'arkus told her when he returned with a pile of wood. "I can hear you."

"Yes, I know." She said, trying to get comfortable on the log she was sitting on. "You've hardly let me forget it."

He started throwing sticks into a pile and she realized he was going to start a fire. Oh God, was he going to set her on fire right now in the middle of nowhere?

He seemed to pick up on her panic. "It's getting cold. I'm making a fire. Relax."

She would feel much more relaxed if she wasn't with him and she didn't have the threat of what he was about to do looming over her head. "Where is your home?" She glanced around, but there was nothing to see really. There were surrounded on all sides by trees. Maybe she could get the lay of the land.

"It's on the other side of the planet. I want to keep this transporter hidden so no one else can use it." He rubbed his face. "It makes it harder to hide if it's in your backyard.

"Others must know about it." M'yri'ah reasoned. "If you bring people here with it."

He cast her an impish grin. "The people I bring here in it usually aren't around afterwards to talk about it."

"Ah, so that's your plan." M'yri'ah glared at him. "You plan on torturing me and then murdering me. You had no intention of selling me."

"It was a thought." He said absently. "Not a serious one I've entertained. I said it mostly to frighten you. It usually works on girls you see, but not you it seems."

"I guess you didn't know I was a professional captive." At least that's how it felt. She was beginning to feel like one of those princesses in those stories she enjoyed reading. Dr. Erdel had introduced her to human fairytales when she first came to Earth. He always laughed because it seemed she couldn't get enough of them.

J'edd laughed at that. "You are a funny one M'yri'ah."

She realized that was the first time he used her name.

"You aren't going to tell anyone about the transporter because you aren't leaving my house." J'edd informed her, answering her question from earlier. "I've decided to keep you."

M'yri'ah wondered why he'd want to have her around since he didn't seem very fond of her. "My husband isn't going to let you just keep me." She wondered if he thought J'onn meant to give her up without a fight.

"Do you know how many women have told me that?" J'edd scoffed. He turned from tending to the fire to get very close to her, looking her right in the eye. "How many men have tried to show up at my door?" He smiled remembering. "How many I've killed for defying me? You keep acting like I care if your husband comes here." J'edd stared at her. "This whole planet answers to me. If he shows up he'll be mine to do with as I please."

She wasn't going to argue with him. He was so unbelievably arrogant she didn't think he would listen to her anyway. He would have to learn from firsthand experience.

"Once we get home I'll fit you with a nice collar, something more permanent than this." He pulled the buckle off her inhibitor collar. It was his way of proving to her that he wasn't afraid of her escaping from him.

M'yri'ah knew he wasn't worried about her running away without the collar. She was still at his mercy. Even if she could get away from him, as long as she was awake he would be able to find her by the signature of her mind like a homing beacon. That's if he didn't decide to invade her mind much like Ma'alefa'ak had.

He returned to building his fire again and she wondered what the point of it was. "If you are so cold why are we stopping here? Wouldn't you be warmer in your house?"

"All of us have our rituals." J'edd stoked the fire until it came fully to life.

She closed her eyes as she felt a wave of fear and nausea assault her.

"When I return to Mars I like to come out here. M'ar'leen and I used to sit here like this and stare into the fire." He said, and did just that.

So he was recreating some memory with her? "I'm not M'ar'leen." She tried swallowing the bile she felt gathering at the back of her throat.

"I am well aware of that." When he returned to the overturned log he tried turning M'yri'ah so she wouldn't have to look into the fire. Apparently her nausea and fear were bothering him since he was connected to her. He finally turned the log sideways where he shielded her from looking and feeling the flames. Still, they were close enough to make her feel drained. After a final moment he dropped the mental connection between the two of them. He practically sighed in relief. "That's better." J'edd rubbed his face for the dozenth time.

"Are you alright?" M'yri'ah asked, trying to think of anything else but where she was right now. It was so stupid, to be so afraid of the fire. She was more frightened of it than J'arkus and he posed a bigger threat to her than it did. It wasn't going to jump out and attack her. Her phobia was so unreasonable.

"Surprisingly, I am feeling tired." He said. "I've not slept much these last few days." He tossed a few more sticks into the fire.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Was her immediate response.

"You are a strange one." He said, pausing from what he was doing to look at her. Their legs were hanging off opposite ends of the log they were sitting on so he only needed to bend back a little to see her face. "You are being awfully polite to me even with knowing what I am going to do to you. Are you just trying to save your skin?"

"That's just the way I am I guess." She shrugged. "Just because you are a horrible person doesn't mean I need to stoop down to your level."

J'edd stared at her for a long minute and held very still. He almost reminded her of a coiled snake and she half wondered if he was going to strike her for being so impertinent. She stared right back at him as if daring him to. A smile broke out over his face and it sent a chill down her spine. "You're awfully mouthy. You aren't as meek as I thought you were. I wonder how long that will last."

Now that she was free of him listening in on her thoughts she cut her eyes over at him. He was still dressed like her husband much to her chagrin. After resting here they would travel to his home and everything he had planned for her would start. She weighed her options on an escape attempt. What was the worst he could do? Beat her? Torture her? He was already going to do that and worse when they arrived at his home. She had nothing to lose.

But how would she get away? He had all the power and she had very little. She sensed J'edd was somehow younger than J'onn, therefore may not be as powerful mentally or physically but he was still much stronger than her and she was tied up to boot. At least he had taken off her inhibitor collar. It was loosely attached to a ring around his belt, among other restraining devices.

Then she thought about it. Yes, that's what she needed. She stared out into the darkness that was falling over the foliage as a plan began to form in her mind. If she could get the inhibitor collar around his neck then he couldn't use his mental abilities, his strength or shape shifting. He couldn't just take it off either since it prohibited its wearer from removing it themselves without either blowing their head off or zapping them hard enough to render them unconscious. He would have to go back to his home to get the release and by then she might be far enough away to hide from him.

How on earth was she going to get close enough to be able to put it on him though? He was going to have to let his guard down around her a considerable amount to let her hands go anywhere near his neck.

M'yri'ah ran through so many scenarios in her head and nothing seemed to sound plausible. She frowned as a thought went through her head. She almost wanted to be sick when it occurred to her.

As horrifying as it was, she was going to have to try seducing him if he would let her. He was such a pervert, she was sure that he wouldn't be able to resist. Still, he wasn't an idiot. She was going to have to be really convincing to fool him.

She only hoped J'onn would forgive her for what she was about to do. While she thought J'onn might be bothered by her plan there was part of her that knew he wouldn't mind if it meant her freedom. Once she was trapped in J'edd's home she was sure she wouldn't be able to escape. This was her last chance to get away from him.

M'yri'ah wasn't the best actor ever. Still, she had seen Lex lie enough times and she took enough notes that she might be able to pull it off. She went over it in her head: maintain eye contact unless it would be strange to do so, don't play with your face or hands, tell the truth when you can, and believe your lie is true yourself.

M'yri'ah took a long calming breath. She was going to have to get her mind and body on board with this or her reactions to him were going to give her away. She just repeated hundreds of times in her head that she was sitting next to J'onn. Everything was alright. Everything was going to be fine.

"You are being awfully quiet." J'edd said, breaking her concentration.

"I was just thinking." She said softly.

When she said nothing more he prompted her. "About?"

"Nothing," She looked at him. "J'edd?"

"What?" He grumbled. Her tone had changed slightly and it made him curious.

"What are you going to do with me once we get to your home?" She didn't make eye contact with him, wanting him to think her frightened.

"I think I already told you." He said, but he repeated himself. "I'm going to burn you until you submit to me." He broke one of the sticks he had in his hand in half.

"What if I don't submit to you?" She asked, looking into his eyes.

He just smiled at her, telling her with his look that he really didn't care one way or the other.

Here we go. She tried to keep her breathing even. "Do we have to do that?"

She said it such an odd way it made him wonder. "What do you mean?"

"Do you have to hurt me?" She began. "What if-," she tried not to gag on her words. "What if I came to you willingly?"

"I find that hard to believe." He was suspicious of her, as she expected.

"I've been hurt before, like you are intending to hurt me." She would need to tell him a truth to gain his confidence. "I don't really want to go through it again." She tried to make her voice sound sincere. It wasn't difficult considering she really didn't want him to hurt her. "If you promise to be gentle, if you promise not to hurt me… I'll do what you want."

He snorted at her. "Just like that?"

M'yri'ah nodded.

"You are a piece of work." J'edd laughed. "You can't expect me to believe you."

She sat up straight and continued to look him in the eye. "Listen to my mind then, if you aren't convinced."

"And then I will be weakened by the fire, just like you." He countered.

"You wouldn't have to do it for long." She said, hoping to flatter him. "You are very strong, I'm sure you can handle it."

He peered into her mind and she willed herself to not be frightened of him, to want him but it was very hard. "You are scared of me." He grinned and he felt a spike of fear from her.

"Well, yes." She would have to tell the truth again. "While you may look like my husband, he had a twin brother who looks just like him. He did horrible things to me. The way you smile and act in this body, you make me think of him and it scares me."

J'edd thought on that for a moment. She felt him searching in her mind for something and then his shape began to change. He still looked like J'onn but he decided to take on a variant of his form that Ma'alefa'ak had never copied, at least not around her. He was dressed a lot less modestly. He wore boots, short looking tights and a red X over his chest. He didn't bother with a cape. He looked quite human to her. He didn't so much remind her of Ma'alefa'ak this way so she was able to relax.

He broke their connection, somewhat convinced that she was willing to go along with him now. That and he was tired of the nauseous feeling he was getting with her being near the flames. "Hm." He seemed to be happier now. "I think I like the way you look."

"Oh?" She glanced down at herself. She was in a human friendly form as well.

"Only," He began. "Maybe your hair could be dark, like when you were dressed as human?"

It was a small request so she changed the shade of her hair to black.

He seemed pleased with her compliance. "M'ar'leen liked to wear her hair like that."

"I see." She looked away shyly.

J'edd couldn't believe he was going to do this. He had so many plans for her but if he could do this easily and not have to fight her tooth and nail the rest of the way he could live with that too. "Fine. We can do it your way, if you like." He said. "I can be gentle with you if you do as I say."

She tried to look relieved, letting out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding.

"Take off your clothing." He said quietly.

"What?" She squeaked, thinking he didn't waste any time.

He grinned at her almost terrified expression. "Take off your clothes." He repeated. "I'm not asking you about your true form." He found her ugly that way anyway. "Take off your clothes while looking like this."

"But we're out in the open." M'yri'ah looked around as if trying to peer into the darkness for anyone who might be lurking about.

"No one is around and no one comes out here." He said, watching her glancing off into the forest. "It's just you and me."

"I'm sorry." She looked embarrassed. "I'm shy."

"Oh for God's sake." He tried pulling at the front of her clothes.

M'yri'ah forgot herself and tried stopping him which only made him angry. He tore at the front of her uniform, which was something like tearing her skin. She cried out in pain and tried pushing him away and it only fueled him further. She found herself being pulled off the log where she was sitting and being dragged away from the fire. She landed on her back with a grunt.

"You must think you are so clever trying to trick me." He stared down at his prize. He much preferred this form. Human women's bodies were quite beautiful and he loved how uncomplicated they were compared to M'yri'ah's natural form. He also liked watching the rapid rise and fall of her naked chest as she grew fearful.

M'yri'ah gasped. This had progressed faster than she thought it would. He had her on the ground and was over top of her. She hadn't even had a chance to grab the collar yet. She willed herself to remain calm. "You said you would be gentle with me." It came out as a complaint.

That seemed to halt him. "I did."

"Won't you kiss me first?" She didn't really want him to touch her at all, but it would be better than him ravaging her right away.

J'edd was a little confused by her. While frightened, which he was used to, she seemed somewhat willing enough to go along with what he wanted which was something he really wasn't used to. "You want me to kiss you?"

"Yes." She said despite herself. "You are rushing and scaring me." She lifted herself up to a sitting position and moved out from under him. It was a miracle that he even let her do that. She tried to cower and look as nonthreatening as possible. "Please be patient with me."

"Alright." He seemed both amused and annoyed with her and her antics. He sat next to her and took her in his arms, hauling her startled form into his lap so her legs were on either side of his hips. He stared at her face for a moment trying to read her expression. She looked just back at him expectantly so he finally gave in and kissed her.

She did her best to allow him to kiss her and reciprocate. It was hard but she tried to fool her brain into thinking he was J'onn again. He still looked and felt like him, so her body slowly got on board with this deception.

The collar was within her grasp now, being so close to him. She tried to keep him distracted, letting her hands run along his chest and then his hips, until she could feel the leather strap. She reached down and took the collar, pulling it from its loop. Thank goodness it was smaller than the ones she was used to seeing. They were usually made of metal, ridged and quite large. This one was leather so at least it could fold up and hide it in her hand.

Since she seemed to be getting into it he began touching her as well. J'edd palmed her naked breast, which made her shudder in revulsion. Thankfully he thought she was just growing passionate.

M'yri'ah didn't think he would settle for kissing her for very long, she needed to move things along. She surprised him by looping her arms behind his neck. It was a bold move on her part, but she was able to unball the collar from her fist and grab it with both hands behind his head.

He was wary of her having the chain to her handcuffs around his neck but she forced a smile to reassure him. M'yri'ah used the chain for leverage to pull him down to kiss her again which he seemed to enjoy and it distracted him from what she was doing. He was so distracted in fact the he didn't feel that the collar was right behind the chain.

She was careful not to hook the collar around the chain, making sure she wouldn't be stuck on him once he realized her deception. She zipped the collar closed around his neck and his eyes instantly sprang open. She pressed the button on the side of the inhibitor and it whirred to life.

She jumped from his lap and swung her bound arms at him with surprising strength, knocking him to his back and away from her.

He growled in a fit of anger, realizing she had tricked him. He stood up and swung at her, his arm growing spikes and going wide.

M'yri'ah only just managed to dodge his attack. She realized the collar was only blocking his telepathy, like it had been set on her in the car. He still had full access to his strength and shape changing. It was disappointing but blocking his telepathy would have to be enough. At least he couldn't command her back to him with his thoughts or find her instantly. At least not until he got his collar off…

His eyes were literally glowing red with rage. "When I catch you I am going to make you so sorry." His voice was dripping with promises of the horrors to come.

M'yri'ah only grinned at him before flying off. She had always been able to fly faster and outrun J'onn. Hopefully the same was true in this world and she could outfly J'edd. She didn't dare look back but she felt his presence slowly fading as she outran him.

He wasn't about to just give up without a fight and tried zapping her a few times with his eye beams. She felt her shoulder get singed as one connected. She turned her head back and hit him straight in the face with her laser vision. She didn't bother to look and see the outcome. She needed every moment she could get to escape.

The forest slowly turned into a desert. M'yri'ah came up to a crop of buildings in the distance. It was dark and nighttime so everyone was in bed. She couldn't blend in with the crowd but maybe she could hide long enough for J'edd to fly away. It would buy her a little time at least.

_"J'onn?"_ Once she was far away enough from J'edd she tried calling out to her husband. When she heard J'onn's voice it was like listening to someone whisper down a hallway. He was still on Earth and so far away.

_"You got away I see."_ He was having a hard time hearing her as well, but when he closed his eyes he could just hear her as if she was standing right beside him.

_"Yes."_ She didn't have the luxury of concentrating on his voice, but she could understand him just fine.

_"You were very clever to get away from him."_ He complimented, he knew she was worried he would be upset. He couldn't have been more proud at her cunning. _"But don't get distracted now. You'll need to hide from him."_

_"I will."_ She just wanted to hear his voice. _"I love you."_

The way she said that made him worry. It was like she was trying to say she loved him for the last time. _"I love you too. I'll be there soon_." He was at the Watchtower now.

She didn't want to let the sound of his voice go. She enjoyed the comfort it brought her but she would need to concentrate in order to see him again.

Finally she landed next to what appeared to be a temple with smoke coming out of its chimneys. It was so dark under the stone awning, and there were pillars to hide behind. There had obviously just been a sandstorm recently as massive heaps of dirt was stacked against the columns and the grounds. No sooner had she run into the darkness than she heard J'edd's voice calling out to her. He had obviously not been slowed down too much by her attack earlier.

"You think you can hide from me?" J'edd's voice carried on the wind. "Your freedom is only temporary. If I have to go back home first to find you I'm not going to be very nice."

She hid behind a pillar and practically buried herself in the red dirt. She had hidden herself from Ma'alefa'ak both on Mars and Earth. This time would be no different.

"What are you doing young lady?" A man stood in the entryway of the building, covered in robes and chains, symbols to his devotion to the priesthood.

M'yri'ah looked up, horrified to see J'arkus standing right in her field of vision in his natural form.

The man seemed to be familiar with her reaction. "You don't have to worry. I am not J'edd."

She was relieved to hear that but didn't say a word.

The man noticed the state of her clothing. "Are you in trouble?" He looked like he was about to say more when he was interrupted.

"M'yrnn, who are you speaking with?" M'yri'ah could hear J'arkus' voice coming back this way.

M'yrnn cursed his luck and watched as the woman completely buried herself in the sand. "I didn't feel you there J'edd."

"Who were you speaking with?" J'arkus repeated.

"To the Gods dear brother." He said. "I am in a temple, I expect I'm still allowed to do that unless you outlawed that as well."

"Obviously not." J'edd looked around.

"What brings you here?" M'yrnn asked. "Taking a trip away from Earth for a while?"

"I'm trying to find someone."

"Did one of your girls give you the slip?" M'yrnn asked. When J'edd shot a questioning glance at him he said. "I can see that you have a collar around your neck and you don't look like yourself." M'yrnn's brother liked to play dress up with the girls he was with. He often imitated the shape of their husbands or loved ones to mess with their minds as he did awful things to them. "Why don't you come inside for a while and have a cup of tea?"

"I don't want any of your tea M'yrrn." J'edd was sure M'yrnn knew where M'yri'ah was, he had a guilty look on his face. "I wonder if she went inside."

"It's just me, a few priests and the nuns J'edd." M'yrrn assured him.

"What a waste." J'edd said absently.

"What is a waste?" M'yrnn asked, although he was sure he would regret it.

"You and their celibacy." He looked at the temple, everyone inside had taken an oath.

M'yrrn knew he wouldn't be able to understand but he said it anyway. "There is nothing wasteful about treating your body like a temple J'edd." M'yri'ah could hear M'yrrn think terrible things about how J'edd treated his own body, sleeping with anyone who would let him or who he could take.

"Maybe I should go in and check in on the nuns, they must be hiding her."

"What?" M'yrrn asked, startled. He didn't like the sound of his brother's voice. "You cannot go in there and see them. No one is allowed to look at them." In truth, there was also something else they were trying to hide. Some of J'edd's slaves were hiding with the nuns and they hadn't quite had a chance to relocate them yet.

J'edd stared at his brother. M'yrnn was looking down at the ground as he thought on his words. He was so easy to manipulate. "I'm missing a girl and I swear I'm going to turn over every rock in this place until I find her." He noticed M'yrnn's eyes flicking towards a certain space in the darkness. He grinned. J'arkus knew he could count on his brother's guilt to help him.

"Why are you so obsessed with one woman who ran away?" M'yrnn asked, looking up into his brother's eyes. "Don't you have plenty of women who would willingly take you to their beds?"

"Yes, but this one belongs to me and only me." The more he thought on her the more he wanted to keep her. He was enraged with her, but part of him was thrilled at how crafty she was. M'yri'ah would be a challenge to break. She would give him the thrill of fighting him unlike many of the women who simply rolled over and took his punishment. After he punished her a little, he would make sure she he never left their home again. "I'm not going to allow her to get away."

"Have you taken another wife?" M'yrnn tried sounding conversational. He was getting far too nervous and that was never good.

"Not yet." He smiled, trying to unnerve his brother. "But once her husband's dead and gone I'm sure she'll come around." He looked like he was about to leave when he struck out into the darkness through the sands and connected with a warm body. He grabbed M'yri'ah up by the hair and swung her down onto the marble ground in front of him. When she tried to stand he grabbed ahold of the chain that was still binding her wrists. "Thank you for helping me find her."

M'yrnn looked horrified that he had inadvertently given her away. Had he looked in her direction?

Now that he had her in his clutches he felt his anger take back ahold of him. He began hitting her, over and over until he worked his way into a frenzy. She could do little else other than try to block his blows with her arms and hope he would stop soon.

J'edd growled at her and his form shifted. He didn't bother changing himself into J'onn this time. Not when he had been in her mind and knew who she had been most afraid of. "I should never have been kind to you." He tore what was left of her clothing off while she struck at him. Only when she was naked did he pin her body down to the floor.

M'yri'ah had to remind herself this wasn't Ma'alefa'ak to keep from panicking. J'arkus was just wearing his skin. Then again it was J'edd and she was finding that he was somehow far worse that Ma'alefa'ak.

"Let's take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?" J'edd own clothes faded away much to her horror.

She redoubled her efforts, kicking at him and trying to get her shackled hands out of his grasp. He seemed to find her attacks against him mere annoyances at best. He hit her in the head hard enough to stun her into compliance for a moment.

"Please brother." M'yrnn begged him. J'edd had always been an awful man but he never committed such wicked deeds so out in the open. "This is a temple of a God. You can't do this here!"

"I think it's perfect." J'edd grinned down at her, not bothering to look up at his brother. "Don't you think so M'yri'ah? Your brother-in-law was a priest as well wasn't he? What more perfect place to defile you than the temple of H'ronmeer?"

"I must insist!" M'yrnn stomped his foot down.

"Oh dear brother," J'edd sounded so bored with him. "It doesn't sound as if it matters to you where I take her as long as I don't do it in your sight."

"You know that's not true! You shouldn't be doing this at all. You know this is not right! You know this is not your wife." How many times would he have to pick up the pieces of the lives his brother destroyed?

M'yri'ah looked at M'yrnn, wondering why he just stood there and watched if he felt that way.

J'edd noted her look with glee. "My brother is soft hearted and talks a good talk, but you will find that he is very much like the rest of the peace loving cowards on this planet. He won't lift a finger for you." He leaned down and bit her neck hard enough to draw blood. "Even if he wanted to help he hardly has the strength of a human to stop me." He had been born such a weak boy, it was a miracle he was still alive.

"Get out!" M'yrnn demanded. He felt awful, but there was nothing he could do for her now. He couldn't allow J'edd to stay either and expose the rest of the slaves he was trying to save.

"You are forgetting yourself." J'edd glared at his brother. "But perhaps you are right." His clothes formed back over his skin. "I wanted to take it slow and this isn't what I planned." He stood up before he dragged her to her feet. "Let's go home my love."

* * *

**Author's notes: Sorry about this chapter. I know it's pretty mean. I also know that it sort of mirrors the scene I did with Ma'alefa'ak in my other story with her tricking him (if you read the unedited version). I re-read it and I felt like it was pretty lazy of me. **

**I just didn't get a chance to flesh the scene out as much as this one. I really wanted M'yri'ah to get the drop on someone. Ma'alefa'ak is a murderous psycho who is completely uninterested in any sort of relationship while J'arkus is an open character to be one of those weird murderous possessive nut jobs. It was a ton of fun to write.**

**To all those who might hate me now, please wait until Chapter 12. It shall be fun.**


	11. Chapter 11

Hal said he needed to go off in private and give his ring a good charge before they set out. He gave the excuse that he always liked to be prepared when he was taking his friends on a mission to save the universe. In reality he was just being polite. Batman looked like Superwoman had run him through the mill and he was sure he needed a minute to patch himself up before they went on another excursion. Even though Hal had a fancy ring, he was just a human himself and understood it was hard to ask for help among his super powered friends.

In the meantime they had a moment to talk amongst themselves in Superwoman's home. Diana had snuck away, finding Bruce wrapping his wounds from earlier. He still had his cowl in place but his shirt was off. His chest was purpled right over his ribs and he was taping an icepack to it. "Bruce?" She asked permission to enter the room in case he wanted to cover up.

"What is it Diana?" Which was Batman's way of saying it was okay for her to come in and see him. She had been staring at him through the crack in the door for some time now. She came to stand directly in front of him and kneeled down.

"Are you okay?" Diana gently thumbed his lip. It looked like someone had bit him there. She could guess who "Did she hurt you badly?"

He pressed his lips into a thin line. "I'm fine. It's nothing I couldn't handle."

"I'm glad." Diana didn't press him more. She knew he would be too proud to admit even if he was hurt.

"Is that all?" He growled at the pain in his side, trying to push it out of his mind. "Or did you want to bother me about something else?"

"No." She knew he was just being sharp with her because he was in pain.

"Finally giving up on me then?" He asked hopefully.

Diana knew well enough what he meant and it had nothing to do with her pestering him about his health. "No." She shook her head. "I never will." He knew she wasn't much for giving up on anyone.

"You'll have a long wait." He began dressing again. He put on his shirt and then attached his cape to his cowl.

"I know." She said patiently.

"I might never come around." He slipped on his gloves.

"That will be fine." She nodded.

Batman sighed at her. She really was persistent. "Why?"

"Because I love you." Diana admitted. "And I will be here if and when you are ready." She was a proud woman who knew what she wanted but she wasn't going to force herself on him and she wasn't going to beg him either.

A wry smile marred his features. "You'll fall in love again."

Diana knew what he said was true. She was immortal so she never thought anything otherwise. "Of course, but that doesn't mean what I'm feeling isn't real."

He seemed to think on her words for a moment.

"It's alright Bruce. I don't expect anything back." She stood. "I'm glad you are feeling okay. I was just worried." She brought her hand up to touch his face but hesitated and then put her hand back down to her side. "Hal should be ready to go now."

"Then let's not keep him waiting."

When Bruce and Diana entered the room they saw everyone had already gathered around Hal. "Squeeze in tight folks." Hal encircled them in the glow of his ring.

"What about her?" Flash realized that Superwoman was being left behind.

"Leave her. We got bigger fish to fry." Hal said.

"We can't just leave her here." Diana stopped him. "What if she escapes to warn the others?"

Hal reluctantly agreed. "You're right." He lifted her up with them.

They all flew higher and higher, up and up until they were in space.

Superwoman found herself close to Batman. Try as she might she couldn't resist taunting him. "Oh little man." She sneered at him in little more than a whisper. "When I get out of here I am going to kill you so slow."

Diana struck Superwoman across the face so hard she knocked her out. Bruce gave her a look. "What? Just because she has to come with us doesn't mean we have to listen to her the whole way there."

"Remind me never to get on your bad side." Flash didn't even laugh, he sounded quite serious.

* * *

When they arrived at the Syndicate's base they made sure they left Superwoman's unconscious and gagged form hidden behind a few crates at the entrance. As they made their way through the halls the amount of weapons kept multiplying to disturbing levels.

"Look at all this stuff." Barry whistled in amazement. He had decided to walk at the same pace as everyone else rather than scouting ahead. "It's like they want to start a war or something."

"I don't know why you are surprised." Hal said, not impressed with their weapons cache. He had seen much worse. "It takes a lot of firepower to keep hold of a planet."

"It sure looks that way." Barry brought his eyes forward when he heard people talking ahead.

Superman wasn't sure why they were able to sneak up on the Crime Syndicate. Ultraman was in the room with the other members of his group. He should be able to hear them coming with as much noise as his friends were making. Even with all the sound dampening walls Clark could still hear the Syndicate staff's conversations in other parts of the building quite easily. He smiled at himself. What did his pa always say? It's best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. He should be thankful that they could get the drop on them at all.

Once they walked into the adjoining room it became clear why they were able to sneak up on them. Ultraman was just excited that they were nearing the completion of their bomb. Superman was sure he must have selective hearing.

The Flash had already turned around when he heard someone appear behind them. "Look who I found in the hanger?" Johnny chirped. He had somehow freed Superwoman from the steel bars Superman wrapped her in. "Oh!" He seemed surprised to come upon Earth's heroes.

"There they are!" Superwoman cried. "Get them!"

If they had the element of surprise before, that was long over. The Syndicate heads were already on their way to grapple with their counterparts, everyone, except of course, for Owlman. He was still at the control panel. Batman didn't mind however, it wouldn't be the first or last time he had to seek out his enemy. He shot his grappling hook out to the platforms above, intending to bring the fight to him.

Ultraman had attacked Superman first, sending him tumbling into the next room. He wasn't his target though. He was on Luthor before he could react. He hit him and his little tin can of a suit into the wall. "Don't have any blue kryptonite to save your sorry ass this time Luthor?" Ultraman taunted.

"Oh, I got plenty." Lex said, getting up and hardly looking fazed from the blow. "But I won't need it." Luthor shot into the air and dropped down again slamming his elbow down on Ultraman's head. Ultraman almost careened into Owlman below.

"Watch it!" Owlman growled at Ultraman, just barely getting out of the way before his colleague took out one of the catwalks with his fall. When he turned around to his computer again a fist was already in his face, breaking his nose. Thomas lashed out with his boot to knock whoever was attacking him away.

Batman grunted as Owlman kicked him into the steel bars of the railings. He felt like he had just lifted himself up off the ground when Owlman struck him across the face and then again. He felt the steel plates of his gauntlets hammering him and cracking his bones. Bruce shoved his hand into his utility belt and pulled out a set of electrified brass knuckles. He slammed his fist into Owlman's jaw, sending him staggering into railing. He almost flipped off the side before he caught himself.

The bomb let out a loud chirp, letting Owlman know it was ready to be detonated.

Superwoman heard it as well. "Hurry up Owlman!" That momentary distraction was all that was needed. She was suddenly in Wonder Woman's grasp. "Get out of here." She grunted as Diana's arms tightened around her.

Diana was having a difficult time keeping her still. With all the flopping she was doing on the ground, Superwoman was doing more damage to herself than Wonder Woman was. "Submit!" Diana pushed her into the steel floor, immobilizing her.

Batman heard Owlman's suit power up. "I'm done playing games with you."

Suddenly Batman found himself toppling over the edge of the rails and onto the ground below. He caught himself at the last second with a grunt. He probably just sprained his ankle with that one. He wondered what else could go wrong.

Owlman stepped near the bomb and pushed the button to his dimensional device. "Goodbye." He didn't seem to say it to anyone in particular.

"Goodbye Thomas." Superwoman said.

The room was suddenly very empty and everyone stopped fighting.

"What?!" Ultraman wondered where the bomb went. "What happened?"

"Don't worry, Owlman took the bomb somewhere safe!" Superwoman called to him, laughing. "They haven't won at all."

Ultraman seemed to be satisfied with her explanation. "You see that Luthor? The whole world will be bowing down to us."

"Oh please," Lex's voice was agitated. Ultraman was pretending to be ignorant of Superwoman's plans but for what reason he couldn't fathom. "We already know you plan to blow up the universe with your bomb."

Ultraman laughed at how ridiculous that sounded. "What the hell are you going on about Luthor?"

It took Lex a moment to figure it out but when he did he couldn't believe it. "You have no idea what they are doing. Do you?"

Ultraman started having a bad feeling as J'arkus' words began to come to the surface in his mind. "What do you mean?"

"Your minions are planning on using the bomb to blow up not just this world but all of them." Luthor repeated.

"Whoah, whoah, whoah!" Johnny put his hands up in the air, looking like he was calling a timeout. "Are you serious? When was that part of the plan?"

"It wasn't." Ultraman started to look worried.

"He's lying!" Superwoman shouted, still in Wonder Woman's hold with her cheek pressed into the floor. There was still a chance Ultraman could follow Thomas and spoil their plans. "Who are you going to believe? Luthor?" She spat his name. "Or me?"

"What did the two of you do?" Ultraman glared at her. So she was in on it too. "Don't you dare lie to me!"

She didn't say a word but he could tell by her silence that she had meant to kill everyone.

Ultraman felt his shoulders lower with disappointment. All their plans, all that work was for nothing. He had been used for once and he didn't like the feeling. "J'arkus knew about Owlman." He stared at Superwoman for a long moment. "He tried to warn me but I didn't listen." He ran a hand through his hair. "Oh God."

"We need to focus on stopping him." Lex reminded everyone in the room. He flew up to the computer panel at the same time Batman arrived. "We'll feel sorry for ourselves later."

Batman saw Lex's dimensional device hanging from his belt. Rather than snatching it away from him he held out his hand. "May I?" Lex knew exactly what he wanted and handed it over to him. Batman examined it before hooking it into the computer. "How many destinations can be stored in this device?"

"I don't know, maybe a dozen?" Lex offered. "I've not had a chance to make many improvements."

Batman already had more than enough worlds loaded onto the memory. "That'll do fine." He pressed the button on the device. It made a harsh buzzing sound, as if it didn't want to comply.

Lex knew that noise all too well. "Here, let me try to override him." He went to Owlman's computer and opened a few programs. What he saw obviously didn't bode well for them. "He's blocked us out of that universe. We can't follow him." Lex cursed their luck. "It looks like he's thought of everything."

Batman wasn't so quick to give up. "Is there any way around it? How does it work?"

Lex thought about it for a moment. "We'll need to create a portal vibrating at the same frequency as the universe we are trying to visit." Owlman could block the dimensional device since it was a programmable machine but he couldn't block someone making the same frequency using some other means. "We can then use the dimensional device to pass through to it." He reasoned.

"Did someone say something about vibrating?" Barry let his voice vibrate as if to make his point for him. He could do this job. "Don't worry guys, I got this."

"No." Batman stopped Flash with a halting gesture. "You aren't fast enough."

"Excuse me?" Barry was capable of running through time. He wondered what would make this so different.

"I know your limitations. I know you can't do this." Bruce sounded like he was very sure.

While Barry didn't agree with him he did recall many other instances where Batman hadn't steered him wrong. Diana once told him that Bruce wouldn't say something unless he was sure he was right.

"Well, what about me?" Johnny Quick was also eager to offer his services.

"You?" Barry grumbled.

Johnny put his hands on his hips, looking quite heroic. "Hey, the universe is at stake man. I live in it too." Plus he would love to stick it to Owlman. That bastard had made him work for hours on a bomb that he planned to use against him? He couldn't wait to see the look on his face when they foiled his plans.

Barry looked to Bruce, expecting him to say the exact same thing to Johnny. He wasn't fast enough.

Bruce nodded his approval to Johnny. "Yes, I think you can do it."

Barry stared at Bruce for what he felt like was a full minute. How could he say that? Johnny was just as fast if not the tiniest bit slower than him. He crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't care if anyone thought he was pouting.

"Get on the platform." Lex instructed. "Once you hit the right frequency you'll need to hold it or the portal will collapse."

"You got it!" Johnny began to shake his body faster than the eyes could see until he was nearly invisible.

"Faster." Lex called out, looking at the numbers climb. "Faster." Again Johnny picked up speed. "Just a little more." A glowing portal formed where Johnny once stood. "There! Hold it there and don't stop!"

Batman hopped down to the platform below and through the portal before Lex could stop him. Was he insane? There went the last dimensional device in the room and their fate was in the hands of a human man with a bunch of gadgets.

"Okay, my turn." Barry cracked his knuckles.

"Wait!" Lex knew if he hesitated too long that the Flash might just disappear into the portal after Baman. Barry stopped to look at him thank goodness. "You can't go in there without a dimensional device. Without it you will be lost forever."

"So Bats went in alone?" Flash stared into the glowing void. Everyone else in the room paused as well with the realization that this could all be over soon.

"Yes." Lex sighed. "Unfortunately, I don't have another to go in after him."

With literally nothing to do but wait for Bruce to save them Clark began to think of J'onn on Mars. It didn't sit well with him that he was up there all by himself to deal with J'arkus and his minions. But how could he just leave to go help? Once Batman returned he knew the fighting would resume. They would need him wouldn't they? He then thought on it for a moment. What was it that Lex said? Lex said he needed to defeat Ultraman himself if it was going to mean anything after the Justice League left. He floated up to computer area above and landed on the walkway. "Lex?"

"Yes?" Lex could hardly take his eyes off the portal.

"Do you think you can handle him?" Clark asked, glancing over at Ultraman who also seemed to be in a state of shock. "When Bruce comes back?"

Lex was startled that Superman was going to trust him to defeat Ultraman for him if it came down to it. "Well, yes. Why?"

"I need to be somewhere else now."

"Superman, Batman is fighting for his life." He was fighting for all their lives really. Lex looked at the portal. If only he had made more of those dimensional devices they could go in and help.

"I trust Bruce." Superman said confidently. "He wouldn't have gone if he didn't feel like he could handle it himself."

"But don't you want to wait?" The fate of the world, no, the entire universe rested completely in the balance. He wondered how Clark couldn't wait for a moment more to see how it ended.

"No." Clark shook his head. "I think J'onn needs me more right now. I'll be back as soon as I can."

And Clark was gone.

* * *

It took Bruce a moment to get his bearings when he first arrived in the universe. The air was so stale and the Earth so barren. It didn't take him long to see the bomb less than a mile away. "Owlman!" Bruce called up to him.

Owlman sighed impatiently from the platform above. He turned and saw Batman racing towards him below. Yet another nuisance bent on denying him what he always wanted. He should have known Batman would have found a way to break through all his safety measures to keep everyone else out. "What do you want?"

"I want you to come to your senses!" Bruce growled, stopping. His fingers were mere centimeters away from his utility belt. "Do you even know what you are doing?"

"Yes, I do." Owlman sounded like he was quite sane. "I'm going to kill everyone, in every universe."

"Why?" He wondered what drove him to be this way. He wondered what he could say to stop him.

"Why?" Owlman repeated. "Because it needs to be done, there is no point in all this you know." He gestured around so Bruce could take in how desolate the world in which they stood was. "You see this world for example? There is no one here but you and me. I wonder what decisions could have been made to make this world like this?"

"Decisions?" What was he going on about?

"Yes," Owlman explained. "This world started out just like our own but someone somewhere made a different set of choices and it caused this world to spin out of its orbit." Owlman looked at Bruce. "For every decision you make, another world is created. For example, did you know there is a world where you and Wonder Woman acted on your love, and you already have two children of your own?"

Bruce flinched.

"Hard to hear isn't it?" Owlman said. "There are others. Taliah for example gives you a son in one world. Did you know that J'onn was too afraid to ask M'yri'ah to marry him in another universe? He is a whole other person without her and his daughter's love. The Flash's mother in another world didn't die, so he never became a superhero. What a mess that place is. In another world Clark's adoptive parents gave him to the authorities rather than hiding him away and he became a science experiment."

"Enough." Bruce realized he was just trying to distract him. "Why would you do this? This isn't your decision to make."

"Because it's the only thing that I can do, that will matter. Lex gave me the idea…" Owlman said, pushing a button on the keyboard and the bomb whirred to life. "When he brought his friend M'yri'ah over a few years back." He smiled. "Did you see how one little decision could change everything? She chose not to follow her husband to save their daughter and then instead of her dying, J'onn did instead." He mused. "And because he was not there to kill his brother on Mars, Ma'alefa'ak brought Darkseid too early and the earth was destroyed." He allowed himself to look around once more. "It must eat her up inside to know what could have been, to know that she should have died so everyone else could have lived."

Bruce said nothing. It was becoming very apparent Owlman couldn't be talked away from his current course of action.

Owlman went on. "All of this." He gestured around him. "This doesn't matter. I'll cut out the cancer that is man out of the universe. As soon as the bomb goes off everything will be over and nothing will exist. "

"You're insane!"

"I suppose I am." Owlman said. "But in a moment that won't matter, will it?"

Batman went on the offensive. He really didn't have time to chat with him anymore. He didn't think anything he was going to say at this point was going to deter Owlman from his mission and he needed to get to that computer.

"You should've let your Superman come instead." Owlman said, catching Bruce's fist in his hand before backhanding him away from the monitor. "But you always have to be the hero, don't you?" He advanced on Batman. "You have to prove you aren't some pathetic speck among your super powered colleagues."

Bruce said nothing.

"It's okay to be honest with me, I'm like that too." Owlman smiled at him. "I don't really trust any of my… friends? To do anything right either." He was on Bruce faster than he could blink. He seemed to have an answer to every one of Batman's moves. Bruce had to go on the defensive throughout most of their struggle. He could hardly catch his breath. Owlman wasn't even using the suit's strength to assist him but he was just as swift and strong as he was.

Bruce would throw a baterang and Owlman threw something similar at him. Batman tried to knock Owlman out with gas and a shield over his mouth and nose appeared.

Batman got in too close this time. Owlman took advantage and snatched Bruce up by the throat. This time he did activate his suits' power, using it to pick him up. Owlman intended to strangle him to death here and now.

There was a beeping sound Bruce had been ignoring until now. He glanced over at the monitor and then at the bomb itself. It looked like there were countdown rings at the top of the bomb that glowed to life as time ran out. There were only a few more rings that needed to light up for the bomb to detonate. Three more beeps and all life would be over.

Bruce grabbed at Owlman's face, trying to get him off of him. Somehow he managed to wedge his fingers under his mask. Bruce jerked it upwards to blind his opponent, trying anything to get him to release him. Owlman growled and let go as soon as his face was exposed. Bruce sprung away from him. Oh God… his face. "You," He stammered uncharacteristically. "You're me?" They looked nearly alike. Owlman just seemed a little older than him.

"That would be something? Wouldn't it?" Owlman took the moment to launch himself at Batman hitting him so hard he saw stars.

Bruce cursed to himself. He allowed himself to get distracted. He retreated a safe distance away.

"No, I am not you." Owlman put his cowl back into place. "You don't know me because I don't exist in your world Bruce. May I call you Bruce?" Owlman said. "You may call me Thomas Wayne if you like."

"That's my father's name." Bruce said, wiping blood from his chin.

"What a coincidence. Thomas is my father's name too." Although the way he said it didn't make it sound like a coincidence at all.

Bruce's lips thinned. He could already guess who he was.

"I really did love you once, but you betrayed me and tried to ruin my plans to kill our mother and father." Owlman said. "You were so weak and I blamed myself for so long for spoiling you the way I did." He seemed to think now about the decision he made. "But it looks like I may have misjudged you. You aren't as pathetic as I thought you would be."

Beep.

"You are like me Bruce. We are the same." Thomas held out his hand to him. "Let's die together, little brother. We don't have to be alone anymore."

"I don't think so." Bruce used Owlman as a platform to jump over to the bomb's computer system. He scrolled through as fast as he could so he could get this bomb out of this world. No sooner had he selected a barren world for the bomb then he felt himself being hauled backwards. He tried to get Owlman's arm off his throat before he passed out from lack of blood flow but he was so overpoweringly strong.

"Hm." Owlman sounded so disappointed. "Once again you are fighting me dear brother."

"Please, stop this." Bruce pleaded with him, feeling light headed.

"No, I think not." Thomas said into his ear. "I'm not going to have this argument with you any longer." Bruce felt his fingers wind around his neck even tigher. "As much as I love you, I'm going to have to kill you again."

"Thomas!" Bruce grunted.

"I can't have you spoiling everything. I hope you understand."

He sent his elbow back into Thomas' chest, cracking his ribs. Bruce then grabbed his stunned body and flung him to the ground. Batman needed to get away from the bomb so he could send it out of this universe. Owlman didn't seem to be in any hurry to run from the bomb himself, thinking he was guarding it.

Beep.

No! Batman gasped as he saw one of the last rings light up. "Thomas!" Bruce thought he would try once again. He just needed a second more and maybe he could save him. "If you love me, like you said. Please don't do this. Think of all the people you are going to kill. You must have been a good man once." Now it was Bruce's turn to offer the olive branch, he put out a hand to him. "Please, come with me. We don't have to fight. We can leave here together."

"No, I have never been a good man." Thomas felt sad that Bruce didn't understand. "I'm only human, after all." He pulled a gun from his belt, intending to end his brother once and for all. Owlman found his gun flying from his hand as a line shot out and tethered him to the bomb. "What did you do?" He grabbed at the wire that kept him tied to the monitor. The bomb was still counting down and the bomb would kill him whether he was attached to it or not. He didn't understand what Bruce had done.

"Thomas?" Bruce said, getting his attention for just enough time for him to do what needed to be done. There would be no intimidations and no witty remarks. He was going to send a brother he never had to his death and it was sad. "I'm sorry." He tossed Owlman's dimensional device over to him. The cool glow enveloped Thomas and the bomb as it beeped.

Thomas growled finally realizing what he was doing. "Why you-!" He gritted his teeth.

Beep.

Owlman found himself in a barren world covered in ice. A howling snowstorm rushed around him, threatening to block all other sound out.

The blinking screen asked him if he wanted to abort the detonation.

Owlman felt a moment of panic run through him. That small part of his humanity that would do anything to save itself kicked in. Push the button and save himself? He wouldn't be stuck here in this frozen wasteland. He could still return to his world using the dimensional device.

Then he remembered and smiled at how silly he was being. "It will be okay." He said to himself. "Nothing matters."

And then the bomb went off.

* * *

**Author's notes: Thanks for staying with me guys. My chapter count is finished at sixteen. Still going through the final chapters nice and slow and trying to make sure I fleshed everything out. Hopefully I have some romantic readers out there who will enjoy the chapters after this coming one.**

**I'm already planning a continuation to this story. Originally I was going to continue my other story called Grief, but this is sort of my reboot. I think this one came out more like I wanted the original to turn out. I think it's a little less confusing. **

**Oh my God I wish I could stop writing already. I need to catch up on my reading.**


	12. Chapter 12

J'onn tried not to cry out as the light tore through his body and sent him on his way. Try as he might he felt his jaw opening and a soundless scream was ripped from his throat. He was sure even if he made the trip a thousand times over he would never get used to the feeling of his body being so completely torn apart.

And then as if nothing happened at all, he appeared on Mars whole again. His peace was short lived however, as now that he was closer to M'yri'ah, her once distant cries and pain battered him.

He could hear her screaming for him in the back of his mind. He had to grit his teeth against the sound and the horrific feeling of his hands being burned. He spared a glance downward and saw his shaking hands blistering and blackening.

If this was any other pain she could dampen it, spare him from feeling the full brunt of her suffering but she was in mindless agony and couldn't control her thoughts.

When she wasn't blinded by pain she would open her eyes to see her hands. J'arkus didn't allow the burns to go past her nerves, instead letting her skin heal and then began the process anew.

J'edd was sitting next to her by the fire, holding her shackled hands by the cuff. He was thinking how different she had been when he first brought her here. She had fought him the whole way to his home, screaming, kicking, scratching and biting him. Now she was terrified and exhausted.

Her skin was still rough when she felt him begin to move her hands back towards the flames. She tried pulling her arm back but it was an exercise in futility. She saw the fire again and the fear of it surged through her. "Wait, please." She begged him before she could stop herself.

"Please what?" J'arkus asked, stopping. She was clutching at his hand with her raw fingers and her head was bowed down low from the weight of it.

"Please stop, please." M'yri'ah looked so small on the floor. She tried so hard not to give him the satisfaction but she felt like she was starting to cry.

That's not what he wanted to hear. "You know what you need to say to end this." He changed tactics. He pulled her off of the floor and propped her up against the wall to rest for a while. Tears were streaming out of her closed lids, her lips were still trembling but no sound came out of her mouth. She was frightened. "Don't cry M'yri'ah." He thumbed the tears off her cheeks gently. "I can make this all end. I can be good to you if you would just ask." He kissed her and she was too tired to fight him.

M'yri'ah knew J'onn was here on Mars when the pain subsided enough. She cried with relief, and thankfully J'arkus just believed her weakening. He'd cut any ties to her mind, not wanting to experience the burning himself.

While J'arkus was distracted she sent her disjointed thoughts to J'onn. She didn't have the strength herself to sever their bond but she wondered if J'onn would so he didn't have to suffer with her any longer. "No, I'm still here M'yri'ah." He refused. "Wait just a while longer." He wouldn't abandon her. She allowed a mixture of guilty relief to flow through her. He supposed that was as close to happy as she could muster right now.

"So what will it be?" J'arkus asked, ending his kiss with her. She hadn't kissed him back so he was sure he knew her answer. "Are you ready? Or would you like to continue to fight me?"

She couldn't answer him, a sob escaping her throat. She willed herself to be strong but it had felt like days since he brought her down here.

"That's too bad." J'arkus asked "Where would you like to be burned next." Her face, her body or perhaps her hands again? The skin on her legs was still mottled and peeling from earlier in the day. Maybe she would like those burned again?

She couldn't let this go on. If she stayed awake J'onn would continue to hurt and be distracted by her. "J'edd?" She said quietly.

"Yes?" He leaned in to hear.

M'yri'ah took a breath and then spat in his face. She murmured something then, which the Martian equivalent was calling into question his manhood. She saw him trembling, trying to control his anger but before he could stop, himself he hit her, snapping her head to the side and knocking it into the wall. Her body went slack.

J'edd thought for a moment that he might have killed her. He grabbed at her throat. Her pulse was still beating strong. He tried peering into her mind but she was unconscious of course. "Damn it!" He hissed. There wasn't much he could do at this point other than wait for her to wake back up again.

J'arkus was getting tired himself and he felt he needed to get out a stretch his legs a little. He might as well busy himself while he waited for his toy to fix itself. He had hope now. She had intentionally made him knock her out. It only meant she was weakening. Maybe after a little time to think she would be more willing to accept his offer when he returned.

In the meantime he left her next to a fire. It was only far enough away to keep it from burning her skin but not far enough away to keep it from weakening her.

J'onn flinched at their abrupt disconnection but he felt he was able to concentrate again. There was definitely relief from the burning he felt. He looked down at his once blistered looking hands. It was as if nothing had happened at all. He clenched them into fists as if testing them. It was strange how their minds and bodies worked sometimes.

He disembarked from his arrival point, which happened to be between two very tall buildings. He headed towards where he last felt M'yri'ah's thoughts coming from. When he stepped out into the open it was terribly hot, nothing like the Mars he knew. He grew a hood on his cape just to shade his head from the sun.

Wherever he was, it looked like a small town next to a farming community. Everything looked so different than he was used to. The buildings were all sharp angles and steep pointed roofs. The Martians were green like him but they all lumbered around with four arms and strange looking faces. They did seem friendly enough towards each other in a hurried sort of way.

He kept his head down for now and changed his body underneath his cape to fit in. If anyone looked closely they would probably see through his disguise, but everyone was so busy keeping their eyes down and shuffling to their destinations as fast as possible. He felt he had nothing to worry about.

J'onn looked into the distance, hoping to catch a smoke trail from the direction M'yri'ah was at to lead him to her. J'arkus had to have a chimney in his home. He stopped for a moment, disappointed with his findings. There were hundreds of smoke clouds dusting the horizon. He hated to try to wake M'yri'ah and force her to feel pain again, but he needed to find her quickly.

"You are loitering friend." A voice came from behind.

He turned around to address the person who spoke to him. He appeared to be a priest. "I'm sorry."

"No, no." The Martian didn't want J'onn to think he was in trouble. "It is no problem. I just saw you stopping there and thought I should warn you. J'edd will be visiting today. You know he doesn't like idle hands."

"Thank you."J'onn said.

"But you aren't from around here, are you?" The priest gave him a knowing grin.

Well, he supposed with his luck someone was bound to notice him. "I'm not." J'onn didn't sense any malicious intentions coming from this stranger so he felt he could trust him for now.

"I see a great light in you." The priest said. "I'd like for you to wait here, and see something with me."

J'onn knew he was going to sound rude, but he really couldn't stay. "I'm trying to find someone."

"Yes, I know." The man said. "Most people are looking for someone they love."

J'onn wasn't sure if he had time for games, but maybe this man could help him. "What do you mean?"

"Most of us are slaves here. There is usually someone searching for J'edd's home trying to find the one they are missing." The man said, before adding. "Your wife is safe for now. I can sense J'edd is on the move."

J'onn wasn't sure if he liked this man from the way he spoke to him. He seemed to know an awful lot of what J'edd was up to and therefore might be one of his henchmen. J'onn could get a sense that the priest was a good man but that could be faked. But if he knew where J'edd's home was… "You know where she is?"

The Priest nodded. "But right now is not the time. If you want to see her again, you'll need to be patient."

J'onn could tell from his tone and thoughts that this man wasn't threatening him or trying to delay him, he was just relaying information. "Alright."

"Thank you for trusting me." The man said. "Come with me, we can sit in the shade while we wait."

"Who are you?" "J'onn asked. "What is your name?"

The priest sat down under an awning in front of a home. "My name is M'yrnn J'arkus."

"M'yrnn was my father's name." J'onn mused.

"What a coincidence, so was mine." Although from the way he spoke, it didn't seem like he felt it was a coincidence at all.

"You are related to J'edd?" J'onn asked.

"J'edd is my twin brother."

So this was Ma'alefa'ak's double. "I see."

"My mother foretold that J'edd would have great strength and power, and I was foretold to have none at all." M'yrnn said. "But I think we both know that strength can come in many different forms. It doesn't have to be physical strength, but it can come in the form of motivation and inspiration of others."

He sounded like his father philosophizing. "Yes, that is true." J'onn was starting to grow impatient. He wondered how long he would need to wait. "What are we waiting to see?"

"Something you know all too well." M'yrnn said softly. "And maybe when you see it, you can help give us the courage to fight."

J'onn scanned the horizon when he saw a dust cloud forming. He wondered if a sandstorm was coming in.

It was a vehicle. It was strange considering that Martians could fly and had no need for such things. It looked like a covered truck of sorts that could carry many people. It stopped in front of the farm closest to town. He expected more people but only three figures jumped out, J'arkus being one of them. J'onn supposed J'arkus took a break from torturing M'yri'ah to go out and terrorize his community. He wanted sorely to go over there and beat him within an inch of his life.

"That is S'am'yal's farm they are stopping at." M'yrnn said, interrupting his thoughts. "I know what you would like to do, but you'll need to wait until the time is right." J'onn would need the backing of the community or he would find himself outnumbered. "Let's get closer and observe for now." He then thought better of J'onn's appearance. "Change your hood to red. You'll blend in better." J'onn did as he asked and they moved closer to J'arkus.

J'edd hopped out of his vehicle with his hired help. His thoughts were back on Earth with his fellow Syndicate members. They were all well on their way to dying out just as he had warned them they would. He could curse Ultraman's wretched soul to hell for not listening to him. He was sure the Justice League would be destroyed soon if not already by Owlman's bomb. They might be super powered but not even he could survive that amount of destructive force.

He could only be thankful that he still had Mars to return to. Sure, he would miss the riches he enjoyed on Earth, but there was plenty of bounty right here. He was sick of sharing his cut with the other Syndicate members anyway when he did all the work here on Mars. In any event, it was about time he let his people know he returned, which was the reason behind this social visit.

"Good afternoon S'am'yal." J'edd called out to the field. There was a man and his son tilling the soil in the heat of the day.

"Good afternoon J'arkus." S'am'yal stopped what he was doing to greet J'edd. He bowed low at the waist. "What brings you here to our humble farm?"

"I've been having issues on earth and I've decided to spend more of my time here."

"Oh," S'am'yal made sure his voice was sincere. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Sorry to hear that I am back or that I am having trouble on Earth?" J'arkus sounded quite amused.

"I'm sorry you are having troubles on Earth of course. We are always happy to see your face." S'am'yal cast a look at his son, who was having a hard time covering up his contempt for J'arkus. He looked so sullen with both sets of his arms crossed over his chest.

"That is good." Jarkus said. "Unfortunately I'll need to make up for the funds I am not able to pull from Earth anymore."

"I'm sure we can help." S'am'yal said calmly. "Once our next crop comes in, we can give you a larger portion."

That wasn't what he wanted to hear. "But I am having issues now you see."

S'am'yal weighed what he was going to say next. "I have already paid your monthly tribute but you know I would give you whatever I had J'arkus. If I had anything left after I gave you most of my crops last week. I am barely keeping my family fed as is." He thought on it. "Maybe in a month's time we can give you what is in our fields?"

"Father!" his son growled. "How can you do this? My mother and sisters are sick with hunger! How can you give him anymore?" He looked at J'arkus. "You've already came this month." The boy defended his father. "It's only been a week. Of course nothing has grown since then. This isn't fair!"

"Nothing is fair in life kid." J'arkus said.

"We have no choice!" S'am'yal hissed at his son. "I am your father and you will watch your tone. Please be quiet while I handle this."

J'arkus seemed quite amused with their bickering. "I had no idea your family was ill, old friend."

S'am'yal's head snapped back. "We manage."

His son looked like he sorely wanted to say something but this time kept his mouth shut.

"I am afraid I'm on a bit of a time table. I'll need another tribute today."

"J'arkus." S'am'yal's voice remained calm despite the worry he felt. "Please just give us more time. We have nothing to give you."

J'onn knew this game well. J'arkus had already taken everything and was going to make an example of him. He wondered what S'am'yal had that was so valuable that J'edd wanted, perhaps his land?

J'onn didn't have long to ponder his motivations as J'arkus motioned for his hired muscle to move forward. "Take it." They made a beeline for the man's home.

"Wait!" S'am'yal cried out when he realized what they were doing. "Please can't we come to another arrangement? Haven't I always been good to you and given you nearly everything?"

The boy watched in horror as his mother and sisters were torn screaming from their home. "No!" He tried pleading with one of the men that had his youngest sister. "Please don't do this!" For his efforts he received a swift kick in his stomach, sending him sprawling into the dirt.

By this time a crowd had gathered around them to see the commotion. Many of the men asked their wives and daughters to hide, fearing the same thing would happen to them if they got caught up in S'am'yal's misfortunes.

"Let this be a lesson for the lot of you," J'arkus announced to anyone who would hear him, "to those of you who don't pay."

"Please." The man pleaded to his fellow Martians, finally desperate enough to speak out. "Don't let him take my wife and daughters! He will do this to you one day as well." He felt himself being lifted up off the ground by his throat.

"And when I do they'll know to keep their mouths shut." J'arkus growled, wringing the poor man's neck before dropping him into the sand. "They don't call it nuclear winter for nothing."

Anyone who might have come to his defense recoiled in horror. They wanted to help, but what could they do against him?

J'arkus could sense that he had won. "Take the wife and youngest and sell them as slaves." J'arkus motioned for his goons to leave with their cargo. "But leave the eldest daughter. I'll add her to my collection until I'm bored of her." He didn't have any other women other than M'yri'ah, having been off planet for so long. He had long since liquidated his other women. He supposed he needed someone to tide him over until M'yri'ah came around.

"Please." S'am'yal put his head and all four arms to the ground. "Please take me instead."

J'onn thought of how many times had he wished the same thing? When those soldiers dragged his own daughter off to do unspeakable things to her. She had just been a little girl.

J'arkus barked a laugh. "I think we know that they are much more valuable than you'll ever be."

J'onn seemed to leave his senses for a while and pure instinct took over. He didn't feel the heat from the sun, nor the raw pain he felt as M'yri'ah awakened once more in his thoughts. He put his hand on J'arkus' shoulder, the man turned around confused. J'onn's fist met with J'arkus' face hard enough to send the man flying through the air.

The crowd that had gathered around him gasped and gave the two of them a wider berth. Apparently no one ever stood up to J'arkus for long if ever. S'am'yel and his boy came to J'onn's side immediately, ready to help him fight if need be. J'onn held up his hand. "No, go save your wife and children. Leave him to me."

"Thank you." S'am'yel, his son and several others went to the men in the truck, transforming into creatures and tearing the contraption in half.

M'yrnn couldn't help but be pleased. J'onn was already inspiring hope within his people to stand up and do the right thing.

J'edd got up from his knees on the ground and clicked his jaw back into place.

"Why get up?" J'onn asked, taking on his true form. "Snakes like you belong in the dirt." He wasn't much for taunting, but he wasn't exactly feeling himself right now.

"Oh, hello J'onn," J'arkus laughed, rubbing the blood from his chin. "I didn't see you hiding there. I guess you finally decided to show up. What has it been a day or two? I haven't been paying much attention. You know how time flies when you are having fun. Your sweet little wife has been crying for you."

J'onn wasn't sure when he felt this much rage flowing through him before, at least not in a very long time.

J'edd launched himself at J'onn, only for him to sidestep him and he went tripping back into the dirt. When J'edd righted himself he went after him again, and again J'onn dodged his attack. "Stand and fight me you coward."

J'onn did as he asked and stood still. When J'edd came upon him he backhanded him away easily. "You are so slow." He advanced on J'edd now. "You hardly seem to be worth the effort." He allowed himself be struck across the face, hoping to get in close with J'edd. He allowed a smile to run across his features. That would cost him dearly.

J'edd felt his ribs cracking under several heavy blows. They would heal quickly but first he needed to get away from this monster. He allowed J'onn to pick him up and throw him across the way. He caught himself on the ground and was relieved when he felt his bones popping back into place. "You aren't like your weak little wife."

"I imagine you do find attacking civilians easier than trained soldiers." J'onn said calmly.

J'arkus let out a roar and once again catapulted himself at J'onn. They were little more than a jumble of parts fighting each other. They moved swiftly across the red colored soil, swirling in and out of transformations until they once again became themselves hundreds of meters away.

J'edd lowered himself to the ground, like he was getting ready to launch himself at J'onn again.

J'onn was ready for J'arkus when he came at him. He just wasn't ready for him to throw dirt in his eyes. "Ngh!" He reflexively rubbed his arm across his face and that's all the opening that J'arkus needed to land several blows to his chest and face. J'onn landed on his stomach and felt something large and sharp impale him through his spine, pinning him in place.

"Not so high and mighty now." J'arkus had transformed his four arms into scythe like appendages and brought them down on J'onn, severing his limbs. He brought a final blade upon the back of his neck, ready to behead him. Members of the crowd around him gasped, having been rooting for J'onn this whole time. He would make them all pay for betraying him. "Is there anything you would like me to tell your wife when I go see her this afternoon?"

J'onn made a sound of amusement, like he had told him something funny.

J'arkus wasted no more time and brought his arm down and J'onn's head rolled off to the side. "Ha!" Before J'edd could claim victory J'onn's body became like a puddle at his feet. At first he was confused, but then dozens of arms flew out from the liquid, grabbing at his ankles, lower arms and finally his face and pulled him down deeper and deeper until there was nothing but darkness around him.

J'arkus peered into the gloom until a harsh red light flooded the landscape. All that he ever experienced or knew was all around him. He was inside his mind. It almost looked like a city to him.

"J'arkus." J'onn greeted, first appearing hazy to J'edd's mind before he fleshed out completely.

"You're an idiot for coming into this realm with me Manhunter!" Outside he had no weapons other than his body. Inside here he could summon all sorts of nasty thoughts. "You are going to die and when I get out of here I'm going to blow the whole damn planet up!"

J'edd's threats rang hollow to him. J'edd ran here to escape Earth's destruction. If he destroyed Mars he would kill himself and J'onn sensed that he loved himself far too much to do such a thing. "We shall see." J'onn voice echoed all around them. Something rumbled in the distance, like a calamity was coming their way.

J'edd wasted no time, knowing how much M'yri'ah hated the flames he hazarded a guess that J'onn didn't like them either. He imagined a great lake of fire beneath their feet

J'onn watched as flames quickly spread around him and threatened to consume him, but he didn't react. He took a calming breath and closed his eyes. He knew the fire was not real. Still, he moved his hand across the flames and they became like water, flowing away.

J'arkus recoiled. "How are you doing this?" He knew J'onn must have felt M'yri'ah's agony and terror when she was being burned. How could he ignore the fire now?

J'onn could hear him loud and clear. "The fire you burned M'yri'ah with was real. This isn't. I know what is real and what isn't. I wonder if you do."

"The fire might not be real." J'arkus admitted. He was upon J'onn in a moment. "But I am! And if I kill you here you aren't going to get back up again from a puddle!" He struck him down onto the ground.

J'onn rose up again, bigger than life and slapped him in between his palms like one might a nat. He shrank down in enough time to hit J'arkus into the dirt below. Before J'arkus had a moment to recover he lifted him up by the collar. "You remember what I told you, don't you?"

"About what?" J'arkus tried to break his hold on him but he found he was unable to do so.

"I told you I would kill you if you touched her." His voice was oddly quiet.

J'arkus noticed that J'onn's face actually looked a little twisted. And he thought M'yri'ah's memories of Ma'alefa'ak had been scary.

"But you had to, didn't you? You couldn't resist." J'onn released his collar and took hold of his arm. He twisted it around until J'arkus was bent into the dirt. "And then you took my face and tormented her with it, didn't you, so that she would be afraid of me when you were finished."

J'arkus felt something pop and his arm went limp. J'onn had grabbed another one of his arms, intending to do the exact same thing with it. J'edd was allowing his fear to make him ridged. He needed to limber up or J'onn was going to break him. He grabbed ahold of J'onn and threw him onto the ground. "No, not so she would be afraid of you." He had no intentions of letting J'onn live, much less let M'yri'ah see her husband again for her to be fearful of him. "I just did it for the fun of it."

J'onn went still. If he had felt angry before he now had a horrible heat fill his soul. He was going to burn with it and he hardly felt like he cared if it consumed him. No! He closed his eyes and took in a trembling breath. He would need to calm down or he wasn't going to win.

J'edd frowned. Just when he thought he could make J'onn burn with rage he soothed himself. He was so unused to being so challenged by an opponent. What was it going to take to defeat him?

J'onn heard him again. "I am centuries older than you J'arkus." It also didn't help that he had a healthy wave of rage boosting him either. J'onn said, opening his eyes. "And I don't need to resort to trickery to defeat you." He moved a hand to the side and a building came down.

"What are you doing?" J'arkus looked around him, realizing the rumbling sound from earlier was buildings falling. With every motion of his hand, J'onn was orchestrating his downfall.

"I destroyed a memory." J'onn said dispassionately. "And I shall destroy every memory, until you are nothing more than a husk."

J'edd would laugh if it wasn't his own life on the line, and he thought he was brutal. "You are going to do this to me just because I hurt your wife?" His voice was incredulous.

"Not just for that reason." J'onn said. "But that was your first mistake." In a way this man was worse than Ma'alefa'ak. He betrayed and murdered his own people and he wasn't even doing it because he felt wronged by his society, or because he was an outcast. He was just doing it for pure greed. J'arkus began to laugh at him. "What is it?" His eyes glowed and another building began to fall.

"You're just as bad as me." J'arkus sobered, flinching when the memory came crashing down around him.

"That's funny." J'onn said, thinking.

"What's that?" J'edd thought maybe he could distract him for a moment to delay his death a little longer.

"My brother said the same thing before I ended his worthless life." He frowned. "I used to be so optimistic when I was a young man. I used to think there was some good in everyone but sometimes there just isn't." Another building slid off its foundation. J'arkus had to move away to avoid being crushed in his own mind. "I defended him and to repay me he raped M'yri'ah while I was away, murdered our mother and then I lost my wife and my child to a plague he created. I lost everything because I was an idealist."

"What does your brother have to do with me?" He began feeling weak as more memories toppled around him.

"In this world you are him, you are the plague. I made a vow to myself after that day when I buried M'yri'ah and K'hym." J'onn said, advancing on him. "I promised I would never again try to be fair to people like you so much so that I let others suffer for it."

"I thought you weren't supposed to kill anyone." J'arkus was beginning to feel frightened now that J'onn was standing over him.

J'edd's fear was a balm to his anger. J'onn wasn't really feeling generous today. "You're right. I did take an oath and I do so hate to break my promises." He said. "But they aren't here, are they?" As if on cue J'onn felt a familiar presence in the back of his head. He closed his eyes and sighed. Time seemed to stand still in his mind then, with J'arkus kneeling on the ground in front of him like a statue.

"J'onn." He heard Clark's voice. "J'onn, you don't want to do this."

"Yes I do." He answered.

Clark landed near him and tried his level best not to look threatening. Superman had a way about him. He was one of the strongest men he knew, but he knew how to disarm even the angriest of people with just his body language and voice. "Killing him will make you into monster just like him." He knew well enough how tempting it was to go down the wrong path. He knew how J'onn felt.

"I know that." And yet he still wanted to do it.

"You don't have to kill him. You don't have to lobotomize him." Clark put his hand on J'onn's shoulder. "You can help put him away."

"Why? So he can escape and sell more children? Rape women and kill their men?" J'onn knew the ending to this story. J'edd wasn't like a human criminal that could easily be locked away.

"This world isn't our own. He isn't your brother." Clark pleaded with him. "J'onn, please. Let the law handle this. Don't throw away your ideals. You aren't a murder."

"I've had to kill before." J'onn scoffed. He couldn't believe how far he had fallen in such a short time so many years ago. If anyone had told him he killed anyone before M'yri'ah and K'hym died he would have thought them a liar.

"I know." Clark said softly. "You were a soldier, and your brother…" He had asked J'onn to explain who Ma'alefa'ak was back at the Watchtower after M'yri'ah impersonated him. "He would have killed you, but you know this is different." Clark cast a glance down at the pathetic man kneeling before them. He was completely at his mercy.

J'onn frowned at Clark.

"J'onn, let the authorities take him." Clark went on to explain. "I dismantled all his bombs here on Mars. He isn't going to just walk away from this. You know this." And then he took a breath and asked. "Do you think M'yri'ah wants you this way?"

Clark's words resonated within him. "No." She wouldn't want him to do this. M'yri'ah was still waiting for him. She was still hurt and afraid and he was here toying with J'arkus.

Clark could sense that something shifted in J'onn just then. He just needed another push. "Then please don't do this." He pleaded with him. "Let's go get M'yri'ah instead."

J'onn took in a calming breath and they were outside in the real world again.

"Thank you J'onn." Clark looked so pleased and relieved at the same time.

J'onn thought he looked like a boy that got what he most wanted. It made him wonder. "How did you find your way into J'arkus' mind?"

He gestured to M'yrnn. "I asked one of the locals to take me in." Clark said, as if it was one of the most natural things in the world.

J'onn smiled at that. Clark was clever indeed. He then narrowed his eyes on J'arkus, who was now being held down to his knees by several farmers. "Where is my wife?"

"Like I would ever tell you!" J'edd spat at him.

"You don't need him." M'yrnn interrupted his brother's outburst. "I know where J'edd takes his captives." He eyed his brother. "I've rescued enough of them to know."

J'onn nodded his thanks, ready to follow M'yrnn when something curious happened.

The farmers that held J'edd and his men released and encircled them. The crowd started picking up rocks.

Clark was confused as to what they were doing. "Aren't you taking him to the police station?"

They responded by throwing rocks at J'edd and the two men he brought with him.

Clark flinched and looked to J'onn for an explanation. "What are they doing to him?"

"I think they are planning to stone him to death." J'onn pointed out.

"What?" Clark asked, turning around to look. "Can Martians be stoned to death?"

"I imagine they will give it a try." J'onn shrugged. "I suppose this is their justice." He did seem amused. "Things are definitely different around here." He was going to see his wife now. He would let Clark try to talk the locals out of killing J'edd if he could.

* * *

**Author's notes: Goodbye J'edd, you were super fun to write about. Now at least I get to write some romantic bits (and by bits I mean long and drawn out). Those are always lots of fun. Coming up in the next chapter there will be a rather graphic love scene. I hope my readers don't get too offended. I think the way I wrote it though, if anyone doesn't like to read about that sort of thing they can skip over it without missing any content.**

**Thanks for the reviews again. There will be another BMWW scene before the end in case you were wondering. They are one of my favorite couples. I'm thinking of including them in my continuation of this story as well or maybe giving them their own short side story.**

**Only four more chapters after this.**

**I'm already working on a prequel and a sequel to this story. Hopefully they are decent. I'm having way too much fun writing about Manhunter.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Warning: There is a romantic scene in the middle of this chapter. I tried making it read like a romance novel (not using hard core words or anything) but it is graphic. If you feel uncomfortable you can read until they kiss then skip to the scene barrier to the next day. That way you won't miss any content.**

* * *

J'onn followed M'yrrn to a simple looking house. He was rather shocked it wasn't more elaborate looking like some of the finer houses he had seen in this world. It blended in well with the plain looking buildings surrounding it.

"This is his hideout where he keeps people." M'yrnn could tell how surprised J'onn was at the state of J'edd's home. "He has another home here that's nicer." He bumped the door frame and a security panel came out. He put his four hands on the scanners and the door clicked open.

Again J'onn was surprised. "You must be good to fool the scanners." He knew Martian tech could usually tell the difference between Martians even when they disguised themselves. He remembered having such a lock on his own door long ago.

"J'edd and I are identical twins, just like you and your brother. We are the exact same physically so there is no foolery required."

J'onn thought on that. Suddenly everything began to make sense with how Ma'alefa'ak had gotten into their home while he was gone.

M'yrnn laughed thinking about how confused his brother had been when his slaves kept escaping. "J'edd never knew about this. It made it easy to steal his victims from him while he was away." He made his way through the house, J'onn following close behind him. He came to a solid looking wall and pushed at it. A line appeared first and then from that line formed a door and he swung it open.

The way M'yrnn laughed so merrily, it reminded J'onn of his brother when he was much younger. Back before he became so wicked. "You did this a lot?"

"Not as much as I wished." M'yrnn walked down a flight of stairs to a room down below. "When J'edd lived on planet it was much harder. He and M'ar'leen almost always stood guard." He came to a room with a solid white door and went inside.

J'onn looked around the room. It looked very plain. It was yet another false room to throw someone off. The farther he walked in to what can only be described as a dungeon the more unease he felt. It wasn't that he had never seen anything like this before. He had lived a long time and he had been a Manhunter on Mars and a detective on Earth. He knew very well how evil people could be. He just never knew he would one day be retrieving M'yri'ah from such a place.

"It's frightening isn't it?" M'yrnn asked. "I think that every time I come down here." He bumped another solid looking wall and a security panel came out. There were three screens for three rooms. Only one was occupied. M'yrnn popped the door to the room M'yri'ah was housed in, the wall sliding open. "I'll disable his security and the collar on her."

When the door opened M'yri'ah woke up again and J'onn felt red hot pain shoot through him. He let a breath hiss between his lips.

M'yrnn knew he probably didn't feel well so he didn't ask. "Head in, I won't follow you. I don't know the state she'll be in." M'yrnn stood at the door. "I'll let you back out in case you get locked in. I'll see if anyone else is here in any of the other rooms. It won't take long."

J'onn went into the dim room and saw that M'yri'ah was propped against the wall just like how J'edd left her. The collar's clasp had snapped open on her neck but she hadn't moved to remove it.

The fire was almost out but he tossed red dirt over the embers near M'yri'ah. He felt better after the fire went out completely, but he would definitely feel better once they were off this hot planet. When the last embers were extinguished he saw that her mottled skin was able to repair itself faster.

When he touched her face she flinched away from him. "M'yri'ah I'm here." He wanted her to know it was him. He pulled the collar off from around her neck.

"J'onn." Her eyes cracked open to see his face. She could feel his mind. It wasn't J'arkus just toying with her again. "It's you."

Thank goodness she could talk. "Yes, it's me." J'onn gingerly pulled her hands out of their binders, trying very hard not to hurt her. She whimpered and seemed to draw into herself. "Here." He detached his cape from his shoulders and draped it over her. Since his cape was a part of him it felt like he was wrapping her in his own skin. He gathered her up and sat with her a moment. "M'yri'ah?" He asked softly. She didn't respond to him. "Can you focus on me? I can try to heal you." Still nothing. He was beginning to get worried. Had he taken too long? He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against hers, trying to delve into her mind but he found himself in an empty place that seemed to flicker with flashes of memory. She was going in and out of consciousness. He couldn't do anything for now.

"I'm taking you away." He wanted her to know what he was going to do next so he didn't frighten her. He lifted her up into his arms and felt the rough damaged skin of her hands wrap around his shoulder. She hid her face in his neck and he turned his head into hers to shield her from the setting sun outside.

M'yri'ah sighed in relief when J'onn took her out of J'edd's home. The evening came and the world was beginning to cool. It seemed like every time she closed her eyes she was falling asleep only to awaken again when they opened. She wanted to say something to J'onn, anything but she was so relieved it seemed to have rendered her temporarily mute. They flew only for a little while and then they landed and went into another home. This one wasn't as warm as J'edd's house. She felt as J'onn laid her on a hard surface, a table perhaps. She tried to open her eyes but they weren't cooperating this time. She felt something cooling being brushed against her arms and legs before they were being bound up in some cloth.

"I'm so sorry."J'onn apologized to her.

"Why?" She heard someone in front of him say. "Why are you sorry J'onn?" He sounded like J'edd but his voice was much too kind. It must be the priest M'yrnn. She was able to fall asleep again, as the pain had subsided a great deal.

J'onn was so relieved when M'yri'ah passed out. She hurt so badly and he could do nothing to help her the way she was. "Because this happened." He said, touching her poor face. Her skin even there was discolored as if she had been burned there recently. He felt guilty that he spent so much time toying with J'arkus. He had been so bent on breaking him. He could have left sooner and come to get her. She wouldn't have had to suffer even longer than she already had.

"It's not your fault." M'yrnn reminded. He had seen this more times than he could recall. Victims and their relatives often blamed themselves for not doing more when there was nothing to be done. "You didn't do this to her."

"I know." J'onn said softly.

M'yrnn hoped he would take this to heart. "Don't blame yourself."

"I know." He repeated, more to himself.

M'yrnn noticed that J'onn looked so tired suddenly. He could tell the adrenaline had worn off and he had been awake for days. "I don't think you are in any state to leave any time soon. You should take her upstairs and get some rest." M'yrnn gestured to the stairs. "Push on the wall to the left. There's a hidden door." Then he reminded J'onn. "Take care of your wife and don't dwell too much on things you cannot change."

* * *

Sometime J'onn felt himself rising from a deep sleep. He blinked in the darkness. Despite how dim it was around him he could see quite well around the room. The sun was still far from rising and it was too early to wake up.

M'yri'ah was sleeping beside him. She was resting on her side and had nothing more than a sheet covering her naked form. It was so dark that if he didn't know her skin was green he would think he was lying next to a human woman. He thought she looked pretty when she slept, her dark eyelashes fanning out against her cheeks and her inky black hair spilling over the pillow. He wanted to run his hands through it and reached out to do just that, but thought better of it. He withdrew his hand and let it rest on the bed for a moment more. He settled instead for watching the slow rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.

His thoughts began to drift to his friends on Earth. He wondered how they were and how they did against the Syndicate. They must be doing well as everything hadn't suddenly ended. They were all still here. While he knew his friends might have needed him to help he couldn't even bring himself to feel guilty for leaving them. He suddenly found himself wanting to touch her again just to reassure himself of her presence. The longer he stared at her, the harder it was to resist the temptation.

After a few more minutes of debate he got up as not to disturb her with his tossing and turning. He explored the room quietly. Everything looked so odd to him. Martians here definitely had different aesthetic choices. Still, the principal for how things worked was the same.

He came to a table lamp and lifted his hand over it, he connected with it and as he did it lit up. He ran the back of his hand over it and it turned off. He remembered M'yri'ah had one of these lamps in the house once. He had to scold K'hym because she would play with it incessantly at night and it kept him awake.

"J'onn?" M'yri'ah called to him, her voice sounded scratchy.

And now there he was waking her up with the lamp. "How are you feeling?" He turned to look at her.

M'yri'ah glanced around the room and she could tell they hadn't left Mars yet. "Why are we still here?" She looked a little worried that maybe the transporter wasn't working. "Are we stuck?"

"No." He said, coming back to the bed. "We can go back. I just didn't want to take you to Earth in that contraption with as injured as you were." It hurt like hell to travel in the transporter. He was also half afraid she would die if they left immediately after he retrieved her from J'edd's home. He doubted M'yrnn would have let him anyway.

Martians could bounce back quickly from their injuries but there were limits. She had gone through so much mental and physical strain from J'edd torturing her that even now as she looked fine on the outside he could tell that she was still wounded deep below her skin. He felt lucky she could even talk.

"Where are we?" She sat up and looked out the small window. J'onn sat on the bed next to her. "Where is he?"

J'onn wasn't sure what happened but he knew that J'edd didn't exist any longer. "He's gone."

"Oh." She sounded so relieved. Her shoulders dropped fractionally and her body lost most of its tension.

"M'yrnn gave us a place to stay." It was a halfway house he had used to smuggle slaves out of J'edd's clutches.

She remembered hearing M'yrnn's voice on the way here. So it hadn't been a dream. "He seems like a nice man." Even though M'yrnn was Ma'alefa'ak's opposite he reminded her of J'onn.

"Yes he does." J'onn agreed.

M'yri'ah let out a relieved sigh once again. She looked down at her arms and legs where she had been most recently injured. She was so sticky and gritty from the blood, sweat and dirt on her skin. "I feel disgusting." Not to mention she looked like a mummy.

"I brought us here and went to sleep." J'onn admitted. He hadn't really slept at all since this whole adventure began and after what all he went through he had been exhausted. He had wanted to bathe desperately but he just didn't have it in him. "M'yrnn helped me bandage you before we went upstairs." He wanted to explain her wrappings.

She wiggled her fingers and it was hardly visible under her bandages. She couldn't wait to get them off and see what her hands looked like. She eyed J'onn for injuries, wondering how he fared in his fight. J'onn had great patches of red dust clinging to his face and body from his scuffle with J'edd but otherwise he looked fine. "You are dirty too." She smiled at him.

J'onn and M'yri'ah stared at each other for a moment. They both looked like a mess. She started laughing first but he soon joined her. Their laughter stemmed from a combination of their messy appearance and relief that their ordeal was over and they were together again.

When they settled down he took her into his lap and held her against him for a long while. His breathing hitched for a moment and he took a breath.

M'yri'ah murmured to him, wrapping her bandaged arms around his neck. He might have held her a little too tightly, but she didn't complain. She felt the wetness of his tears against her neck. She held him a little closer still. Besides maybe a few tears on their wedding day or when K'hym was born, she didn't think she ever heard him cry. "I'm okay J'onn." She assured him.

When he felt he was able to contain himself he released her and took her bandaged hands in his own and began unwrapping them. When they left J'edd's home last night they had been blackened with dead skin. Now new green skin was peeking out from under the soot. He gently placed a kiss on each, thanking heaven it hadn't been worse.

M'yri'ah took her hand back and tried rubbing some of the dust and tears off of his cheek, but only made it worse. He now had long orange-red streaks across his face.

"I think we both need a shower." She announced.

"Yes we do." His voice was back to normal.

They didn't take long, and he mostly spent his time taking her bandages off and helping her clean up despite her protests. After the blood, dirt and ash washed away, they looked new again.

J'onn handed her some clothes when they emerged from the bathroom. "M'yrnn said you might need these." She looked confused but he knew she would figure it out soon enough.

M'yri'ah shrugged and put on the underwear which looked like little more than a bathing suit bottom. She ignored the rest of the clothes for now. There was a mirror in the room and she gazed at herself for what seemed like an inordinate amount of time. She seemed confused and looked down at her very human looking body. She stared at her reflection for a moment more and looked away, feeling monumentally disappointed.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

"I cannot change back." She stared at her hands. "I cannot become myself again. I can't even look completely human if I want." She couldn't even form clothes to cover her.

He could tell she had never experienced this before and couldn't understand what was happening to her. "I don't imagine so." J'onn said. "You were hurt badly. It could have been a lot worse." He wanted to reassure her. "It's happened to me before when I was gravely injured. Sometimes I lost more than my ability to shape shift."

She almost couldn't believe it, but she knew he was telling the truth. "Will it ever come back?" She glanced at her reflection again before her gaze fixed itself on the floor. Would she look like this forever?

"I don't see why not." J'onn had usually been able to recover after a while, but he didn't want her to think it instantaneous. "I'm not sure how long it will take."

"What if I can never change back?" She knew he loved how she looked when she was in her natural form best. It didn't seem fair that she was stuck like this now.

"Then you will still be beautiful to me." He hadn't taken his human friendly form in what felt like a long time. Maybe now would be an appropriate time to do so. His two golden metal clips merged into a black circle in the middle of his chest with a red starburst shape radiating from the center. The red X around his chest wasn't as pronounced as it faded into the shoulders of his blue cape. He wore blue boots and tight leg coverings. He had something of a loincloth on that was black with a simple red design. The sides of his head weren't as smooth as a human's and called back to the ridges on his head in his natural form.

"You don't have to do that for me." She told him once she saw what he was doing.

"I want to."

M'yri'ah had never seen him look quite like this before. She took a moment to take in his features and the lines on his face and body.

"How are you feeling otherwise?" He wondered if her inability to shift was all that was the matter with her.

"I feel fine I suppose." She looked down at her own hands again. "At least I can still regenerate."

"Yes." It was a blessing. It would have been horrible if she had to endure the pain from her injuries for any longer than she had to.

"That hurt, a lot." She admitted, crossing the room to sit down on the bed. "I would be very happy if I never had to do that again." She almost laughed but sobered at the last moment. "You know, and I thought your brother was bad." Ma'alefa'ak had raped her for hours and she never thought she would have to endure something that horrific again.

Then along came J'arkus. He had been true to his word. Even after he had become enraged with her he didn't do anything but kiss her when he took her to his home. He just enjoyed torturing and humiliating her. He had treated violating her like it was some sort of reward when she chose to end her suffering. She hardly wanted to think about it but she knew there were others that endured far worse than herself at his hands and she should count herself lucky. She should, but she couldn't bring herself to do so.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." J'onn said, hearing her thoughts. He didn't want voice his feelings on the matter but he wished he could have found her sooner. He wished he could have protected her better.

"You shouldn't be sorry. You tried to protect me J'onn." He went with her to Rose's rally. He even went after the Archer who he perceived as a threat so she wouldn't have to. He did everything he could. She was sure J'arkus had orchestrated everything so no matter what he would have gotten his hands on her. "And you came for me and saved me." She met his gaze. "I'm very lucky to have you as my husband. I'm sure I would have been stuck there forever with him if it wasn't for you." She definitely couldn't have been as brave if she didn't know he was coming for her.

M'yri'ah always knew how to inflate his ego even when he wasn't feeling very tall. "You are a very resilient woman, comforting me when I should be comforting you."

"You've had to go through far worse I'm sure." She smiled up at him.

He said nothing to that and sat down beside her. "Would you mind if I kissed you?"

"You don't have to ask to kiss me J'onn." She admonished. "I am your wife."

"I know." He said. "But I thought I would ask anyway." She had so few choices in the last several days.

"I know who you are." She knew he wanted her, knew what he had wanted since they first saw each other but held back because he was he hadn't wanted to scare her. After what she had been through it worried him even more. She remembered J'onn acting the same if not worse after Ma'alefa'ak. They both had the same face and he had been so afraid that she would see him as a monster too. "It's okay." She whispered to him.

J'onn took her into his arms and kissed her. M'yri'ah felt his love wash over her. It was such a wonderful change to feel safe and happy. J'onn knew how to make her feel new again. She ran her fingers along his temples and enjoyed the texture of his skin and the shape of his face and head.

"Do I look strange?" He wondered when her hands lingered on his temples as if exploring them.

"No, just different." She told him. "You always looked handsome to me, no matter what form you took." Then she thought about it. "Except for that time you transformed into a giant octopus."

He had almost forgotten about that. He turned into a monster native to Mars once that somewhat resembled an Octopus on Earth. He used it to grab up a gang once that tried to split up. M'yri'ah had been so amused when he told her the story. "I needed a lot of arms." He defended.

She tittered at that. Her hand found its way to his face again. _"I know what you would like to do."_ She said in her mind.

_"We don't have to."_ J'onn told her. _"Not if you aren't ready."_

_"I wouldn't offer if I wasn't."_ M'yri'ah knew she was probably going to have to be the instigator. He has no idea what she had been through. He didn't want to hurt or frighten her. _"I love you."_ She told him.

_"I love you too."_ J'onn replied, watching as she stood from the bed only to turn to him and straddle his lap. When his hands came up to steady her, her body seemed to flinch. Her reaction startled him, but he soon realized from her thoughts she was merely happy to have his hands on her again. He ran a hand up her back experimentally and he was pleased with the shock of pleasure he felt radiating off of her.

M'yri'ah loved the way he touched her, even something as simple as this. His hands were firm but there was never anything cruel behind them. _"I want you."_ She told him before laying claim to his mouth.

Well, at least she knew what she wanted. He kneaded her hips absently while she kissed him. She began focusing on him so deeply, her mind and her body all straining against him to come together as one. The force of it almost made him feel light headed.

M'yri'ah seemed so desperate, trying to sink into him but it wasn't working. Her kisses became more frantic and she pressed herself so close to him. It was like she wanted to push right through. Her eyes snapped open when she realized that she couldn't be with him like she wanted. She needed to be able to change her body to merge with him.

For the first time since her incident with J'edd she felt herself begin to cry. It was bad enough that he stole her and tormented her for days. Did he have to completely break her body too? He ruined her! She couldn't even make love to her husband.

_"__M'yri'ah you aren't broken."_ J'onn hadn't thought about the ramifications of her not being able to transform and knew she was frustrated. _"You aren't ruined."_

_"__I just want to be with you."_ She rested her head against his chest and let the tears come. She couldn't will herself to be with him. _"And I can't even do that."_

_"__It doesn't matter."_ He combed his fingers through her hair to comfort her. _"As long as you're here it doesn't matter."_

_"__Yes it does."_ It mattered to her.

They couldn't be together like she wanted but he knew other ways for them to feel close and he would be happy to show her. _"M'yri'ah, we can still be together if you like."_

He had her attention. _"How?"_

_"__Humans get along quite fine without what we can do."_ Humans also loved to touch one another like they did. They just came together in their own way.

She knew the mechanics of it but hadn't really explored anything like that herself. _"I suppose."_ She let him push her onto her back on the bed. He came to rest on his side beside her. He propped his head up with his arm so he could look down at her face.

_"__Your body is like that of a human woman." _He ran his hands down her soft curves. She was rather slender looking, but had a pleasant hourglass shape. He ran his finger over her breast and she gasped when he pinched the dark center lightly.

She felt like her body was warming up at the core of her as he touched her. _"It is."_

He watched for her reaction when he slid his hand down her body. He felt the muscles in her stomach practically jumping as he brushed past them. _"I could show you a few things, if you don't mind."_

She couldn't resist asking. _"Things like?"_

_"__You'll see."_ He promised. He sealed her mouth with his.

She took in a shuddering breath. She felt his warm hand over her undergarment, and his fingers brushing over her lightly, teasing a reaction out of her body. "J'onn." She whimpered into his mouth when he removed his hand. Maybe there was something to this after all. She heard him laughing in her head at her pleading tone. He wondered if she realized she had spoken out loud.

His hand eased down her stomach again, this time it disappeared underneath the fabric. He dragged his rough fingers back and forth over her again and again until her hips bucked into his hand. He eased his tongue into her mouth, shocking her at first but when she caught on to his rhythm he joined him. She wound her arms around his neck, trying to pull him closer. She felt him slide a finger inside as his thumb slowly worked its way over her.

After long moments of her writhing and straining against him, he felt her body lock up and shudder. Her back lifted off the bed in a beautiful arch. She made a strangled sound into his mouth before her body went slack against the mattress.

J'onn gave her a few moments to recover before asking in her ear. "You see, that wasn't so bad was it?"

_"__No."_ She breathed, shuddering as his breath tickled her ear. _"It wasn't."_

_"__Now you are ready."_ He kissed her neck, letting his fingers brush inside her wet folds. He felt a residual tremor course through her before he withdrew his hand.

_"__Ready for what?"_ She met his intense gaze.

_"__For me."_ His clothing faded away.

_"__Oh."_ M'yri'ah eyes darted off to the side, her whole face felt so hot as blood rushed to it. She knew it was silly to be shy about such things. Being a doctor to a mostly human crew she had seen a human body before plenty of times and his looked very similar. She just never had one in front of her that had any intentions of being with her intimately.

_"__Are you embarrassed?"_ J'onn teased. _"It's only my body."_

_"__I know."_ She felt like if she blushed any deeper her face would explode.

_"__Here,"_ J'onn took her hand and guided it down to his manhood. _"Touch me."_ She made a noise of embarrassment but wrapped her fingers around him. He groaned into the back of his throat as she clumsily took hold of him.

_"__Does it hurt?"_ M'yriah worried.

"_No."_ He closed his eyes for a moment.

_"__Do you want me to continue?"_

_"__I wouldn't complain if you did."_ He groaned again at her ministrations. She laughed in his ear. Despite her initial embarrassment he could tell she was feeling more confident now.

He felt so soft and hard within her hand, hot and vulnerable. J'onn kissed her absently and moaned as she pleased him. She was so happy to be able to give him pleasure like this. In her memories of their lovemaking he had often been very generous with her and she had been very greedy to take all he could give.

When he was sure he couldn't stand waiting another minute he took her hand from him and moved over her. He bumped M'yri'ah legs open with his knee and settled himself between her thighs. He realized he hadn't taken off her underwear, but rather than move away to take them off he pulled the fabric to the side and pushed into her. He went slowly, and felt her position her feet on the bed so she could bring her hips up and take more of him into her.

_"__J'onn."_ She was practically clawing at his back when he was finally seated completely within her.

He chuckled at her enthusiasm and kept his same slow methodical pace. He enjoyed feeling her passions build within her. Her hips began to meet his in a rhythm. He heard her almost sob, so relieved that he was within her and everything was back to normal. She was so happy she was still alive to give herself to him again.

J'onn felt the same as she did. He was happy she was here, happy he hadn't been too late. He didn't think he had the heart to bury her a second time. As he pulled her hair and kissed her neck he thought to himself that if the world had to end right now, he could die a happy man.

Their love became frantic, more primal. He bit down on her neck and held her in place as they just thrust together and grasped at each other until they climaxed.

He almost felt blind for a moment when his release finally came. Her legs wound around his hips as her body shuddered. The nails on her fingers dug into shoulders. He was somehow able to continue thrusting for a few minutes more, prolonging their release until it became too much to bear and he finally gave in and collapsed his weight onto his arms.

He kissed her and waited until their breathing evened. _"I love you."_ He wondered if he would ever be able to tell her that enough.

She had a very gentle expression on her face, her eyes were glowing a golden color in the near darkness. _"I love you too."_

He rolled over on to his back, taking her with him so she rested against his chest. How sweet it was to be with her once more.

She was already sweating again, and it wasn't just from their lovemaking. The sun wasn't even up yet and it was already warm again. _"I'm so tired."_

J'onn sensed that Clark was still asleep. They still had a little time. _"Then sleep."_

* * *

J'onn covered his face as the sun came in through the window. He had accidentally fallen asleep again and it looked like a couple hours went by.

He briefly thought of being lazy and sleeping for a while longer but he imagined his friends were getting annoyed with him making them wait. He felt on the opposite side of the bed and found M'yri'ah missing. He experienced a moment of panic before he felt her presence not too far away. He donned his clothing and stepped out of the room. He shut the door behind him and it seamlessly disappeared against the wall. It looked like M'yrnn had taken a page out of J'edd's book for the hidden room but it had no sinister purpose behind it. He didn't suppose M'yrnn wouldn't need it any longer now that J'edd was gone.

M'yrnn was cooking something downstairs. "You're up I see." He looked up from the stove. "Your wife passed through here a little while ago to get some fresh air." He pointed in the general direction she had set off in. "Your friend also went on his way to J'edd's transporter to wait for the two of you. I would ask if you wanted something to eat but it seems like you are in a rush again, so I won't keep you."

J'onn hadn't really gotten to speak with M'yrnn too much but he had grown fond of him in the short time he knew him.

"I care for you too J'onn." M'yrnn said, hearing his thoughts. "It's only a pity you weren't my brother instead. I think I would have liked growing up with you." He cleaned his hands with a rag and came to stand in front of J'onn.

"I feel the same." J'onn said. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"No, thank you for everything my dear friend in your short time here you freed us from J'edd. I can never thank you enough." M'yrnn embraced him with both sets of arms. "May the Gods protect you until we meet again."

"Until we meet again," J'onn agreed, giving the man a gentle pat before he left.

J'onn followed M'yri'ah's trail so to speak until things started looking vaguely familiar. He knew he would find her in a small cove on the edge of the city. A few trees had been planted there. M'yri'ah was watching a woman play with her children nearby, and he felt a twitch of envy from her.

She was wearing the pink dress M'yrnn had given her. It bared her shoulders, was high necked but was cut short with a scalloped edge to it. When she sat down it rode up high on her thighs. M'yrnn apologized for its length when he gave it to him but the only two armed clothing on the planet belonged to the human women in J'arkus' services.

"Hello J'onn." M'yri'ah turned her head to look at him. She felt his approach long before he came near.

"Why did you come here?" He wondered. "We really should be going."

"I wanted to see it one last time before we left." She watched a green leaf falling from the tree near her feet. Where they were going, Mars wouldn't look this beautiful ever again. While it was terribly hot it was better than the cold desolate rock her Mars had become. "Do you remember this place?"

"Yes of course." He said, no matter how different it looked he knew where they were. "It's where I asked you to marry me."

She had a faraway look in her eyes. "I still remember that song you sang to me. You wrote it yourself, didn't you?"

"Yes." He remembered thinking this corner of the park would be more private but others had gathered around them when he began to sing. He had been more than a little embarrassed at the time but he saw it through to the end.

M'yri'ah remembered more than a few people clapping when he was finished, as if he had been some sort of street performer. "You were so romantic."

"Was I?" When he smiled she could see all the fine wrinkles under his eyes. It betrayed his age.

"Yes you were and I was so happy." She recalled, looking around. "I didn't know why you asked to meet me here. I was very nervous."

J'onn sat next to her on the bench and looked around at the trees himself. This did look familiar. "What did you think I was going to do?" She should have known he wanted her more than anything else. He had worked so hard to get her.

"Tell me I was a silly girl?" She laughed. "Maybe tell me that you weren't as interested in me as I hoped." She had always felt so lucky that she had him. "I was the envy of my friends you know."

"Were you?"

"Oh yes. Many of my friends were jealous that I found someone when I was so young. Especially someone who was so kind and handsome as yourself." She had just come of marriageable age not even a decade before she met him. Some had to wait hundreds or even thousands of years just to find their life mate. J'onn was even young for finding his life mate and he was only a hundred years her senior at the time.

His arm found its way around her shoulder. "Did you just love me for my looks?"

"Oh, J'onn." She said, knowing he was fishing for compliments. "I would have loved you if you were ugly. I loved you so much I didn't think I could stand it." She picked a leaf up and rolled it between her fingers, making it spin and dance. "It was so long ago."

"Not really, not for you at least." J'onn said. "You still look like you did when I asked you to marry me. I imagine I'm starting to look like an old man."

"Maybe." She admitted that he did look a little older now that she had more time to study him. Not that she minded. "But if you remember, women or men being asked by an older person to marry them used to be sort of a status thing." In Martian culture it was always a compliment if a much older person asked you to marry them. J'onn and M'yri'ah had discussed that particular phenomenon at length before. J'onn's parents were similar in age but M'yri'ah's parents had quite the age gap.

J'onn never bought into that. "Or that they were just perverted old men and women?"

"Ha, well." She couldn't help but tease him "Perhaps you are."

J'onn merely smiled at her and took her hand so she would stand up with him. "It's time to go. Clark is waiting for us."

It was his turn to rush her along. "I know."

* * *

**Author's note: I hope this chapter was enjoyable. I do love writing love scenes a little too much. If you like the romantic parts wait until chapter 16 – I've got another one coming.**

**In addition to writing a sequel I am writing a prequel to this story as well. I was doing so many flashbacks of J'onn and M'yri'ah on Mars that I realized I could actually just write the story instead. So if you want to read about the scene they talked about when he asked her to marry him, it should be up in the next couple days.**


	14. Chapter 14

Clark was startled when he was back in one piece on the Watchtower. J'onn and M'yri'ah were beside when he reappeared.

"Did it hurt?" M'yri'ah wondered if Superman was bothered by it too. J'onn listened, also wondering how his friend felt.

Superman patted his chest and laughed a little. He had a sort of queasy sensation in his stomach that one might get from a fun ride. "Actually, it felt kind of nice."

"Of course it would." M'yri'ah chuckled at that before she sensed no one had returned to the Watchtower. "I wonder where everyone is."

"I don't know." Superman started to worry as well. "Everyone should have been back here by now but I can't hear their heartbeats." He wondered at that. "Does Lex have any lead rooms?"

"Oh yes." M'yri'ah nodded. "He's thought of everything. Why don't we all look around and meet here when we've finished?"

"Sounds like a plan." Clark shot around the building, carefully checking each room in his third of the Watchtower. He found nothing of interest so he went to the top of the Tower and waited for M'yri'ah and J'onn to return. It was the strangest thing this Watchtower. He hadn't thought about it the first time he had visited but rather than orbiting the earth is just hung in the air. It almost looked like a floating castle. He wondered how it worked. When J'onn and M'yri'ah landed near him on the top of the tower he asked. "Can you sense them J'onn?"

J'onn's eyes glowed a golden shade and he looked up into the sky "They are still on the moon." He announced.

"But it's been a whole day." Clark grew even more concerned. He hoped he didn't doom everyone by going to Mars.

"We are still here Clark." J'onn reminded him. "Obviously they have succeeded in keeping the bomb from going off. They just might still need our help."

"You read my mind didn't you?" He wasn't really upset, he was just curious.

"Yes." J'onn said. "I apologize."

"Don't worry about it." Clark shook his head. "Let's just go." He paused when he heard a rumbling sound coming from below. Oh, God. Was that the bomb?

Massive ships were shooting off in the distance. All headed towards the moon. "I wonder what's going on."

"It's Slade." J'onn could sense him among the ships. "He is on his way to the moon now."

"He's sure taken his time." Clark wondered what was going on. Slade said he was going to be right behind them. It had already been a day since they left.

J'onn also wondered what might have happened, but rather than wait maybe they should use this time wisely to go help their friends. "I am sure we can speculate later. We should go help the others."

Superman nodded. "You're right."

M'yri'ah was feeling playful now that she was back on Earth. "I bet I can get there first." She shot off into the air without another word.

"What? Hey wait!" Clark went after her. "That's cheating!"

J'onn watched them leave him behind and felt a smile threatening to spread across his features before he pushed it back down. At least their short trip there wouldn't be boring.

* * *

When they arrived on the Syndicate base it appeared that everyone was still griped by the glow of the portal. Clark couldn't imagine them just standing around watching that thing this whole time. Nothing was that interesting. "What's happening?"

Lex saw Superman appear from the corner of his eye. "Weren't you leaving?"

Clark gave him a strange look. "I did."

"But you just left a few minutes ago." Barry chimed in, wondering how they got back so quick.

"Did we miss anything at all?" Clark was just as confused as the two of them. "It's been at least a day." Clark crossed his arms over his chest trying to figure out what happened.

"It was the Martian transporter." Lex reminded himself. Time also got a little iffy when he experimented with its use in the past. He lost a week once and gave up on it, worried he might send himself too far into the future like what happened with M'yri'ah. "Maybe it can send people into the past as well as the present."

"Time travel is weird." Barry said, and left it at that.

"Lex." M'yri'ah was there and J'onn was right behind her. "We just passed Slade on the way here."

Lex was pleased to see M'yri'ah looking safe and sound. She didn't look like she had any major injuries as far as he could tell. Maybe J'onn was able to rescue her before anything serious occurred. "So it looks like Slade is going to help us after all." Lex hadn't been too sure when J'onn told him that he was coming. Lex had no doubt Slade was upset with the Syndicate but that never prompted him to help Lex in the past.

J'onn eyed the remaining Syndicate members. They seemed as interested in the outcome as the Justice League was and were waiting patiently until either Batman returned or the whole world came to an end. Once Batman emerged from that portal, everyone knew that the fighting would resume. However, if Slade's thoughts on the way up here were any indicator, this fight would be over before it started.

"J'onn, I'm glad you are safe." Diana said, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Likewise." J'onn replied.

"I like the new you." She eyed J'onn's new form. He hadn't looked so human in a long time. While she wouldn't go far to say that he never looked happy when he was in his Martian form, his face seemed to have a hard edge to it. Now he seemed quite placid. "What brought this about?" She wondered.

"I thought it was time for a change." He offered her a soft smile. His arm went around his wife's shoulder.

"I like it." Diana complimented. She noticed that M'yri'ah also looked slightly different. Her hair was a different color and she was wearing a pink dress. She wondered why she wore such a thing, while pretty it wasn't appropriate for battle.

M'yri'ah knew she looked ridiculous in the outfit she was wearing. "I'll tell you later." She sighed. How did you explain this? That your body won't work the way it's supposed to.

"You can't change back can you?" Diana guessed.

"Well, no." Maybe that wasn't as complicated as she thought it would be.

Diana remembered when J'onn had been hurt before, but usually that involved him going near the sun or experiencing some horrible trauma. She hadn't expected M'yri'ah to come back so damaged. "I'm sure it will be alright. J'onn's always gotten better after a while."

M'yri'a wondered how long it would take. "So he's told me."

Ultraman's attention broke away from the portal as the Justice League began talking amongst themselves. He noticed that the girl that J'arkus took earlier was back with the Manhunter. J'onn was quick to notice him and stepped in front of his wife as if to shield her from his gaze. "Where's J'arkus?" Ultraman barked.

J'onn frowned at that name. If he lived to be a million he would be happy if he never heard him mentioned again. "He's dead." Was all he offered, and good riddance.

The portal began to fluctuate and for a moment they couldn't be sure what was happening. Then Batman emerged, looking slightly worse for the wear, but okay otherwise. Wasting no time he moved away from the glowing portal and called out. "Johnny, stop!"

When Johnny stopped vibrating his body the portal closed around him. Where once stood a young man, there was now an ancient looking being standing in his place. His red hair had turned a stark white color.

Barry couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Oh God." He caught Johnny before he collapsed on the floor.

Johnny seemed more amused with his advanced age than Barry was. "Hey," He spoke directly to Batman. "You knew this would happen didn't you?" His smile was weak but genuine. "That's why you said that the Flash was slower than me."

Batman was hesitant to admit it, but it was true. He hadn't wanted to sacrifice Barry to open the portal. He had hoped that Johnny would offer instead. "Yes."

Barry looked at Batman with a sort of horror before he looked back at Johnny. This could have been him lying there on the floor right now dying. He took off Johnny's shades so he could see better with his old eyes. His irises were a deep brown and they were still pointed at Bruce.

"Did you stick it to Owlman? Is the world safe?" Johnny wondered.

"Yes." Bruce nodded.

"Nice." Johnny's weak laughter turned into a coughing fit. "I wish I could have been there to see the look on his face." His voice trailed off to a whisper before he took his final breath. It was so quiet, and then when he exhaled he was gone.

Barry knew Johnny wasn't a good man. He probably killed more than his fair share of people, but he couldn't help but feel sad as Johnny died in his arms. He ran his fingers over his eyelids, closing his eyes forever.

"This is all very touching." Ultraman looked like he had just about enough of them being in his base. "Now get off my moon."

Lex couldn't believe even Ultraman could be so heartless. "The universe was almost destroyed, and three of your team members are dead. What is wrong with you?" Flash seemed more saddened by Johnny's passing that his own leader had been.

"Whatever," Ultraman said. He was more disappointed that they no longer had the bomb to wave over the world's head anymore. They were going to have to figure out something quick. He wondered where J'arkus had Rose. At least they would still have one country fearing them. Without her they had nothing to go on. "Now you are just a bunch of bastards trying to haul us off to jail again."

"We won't need to." J'onn informed him. "I think you'll find that you've upset the President with that little stunt you pulled earlier with Rose."

As if on cue soldiers and a large amount of tanks and other weaponry found its way into the Syndicate's hideaway. The largest tank however was bringing up the rear with the cannon pointed right at Ultraman.

"Give it up Ultraman." Slade emerged from the tank's hatch. He was in his old Death Stroke uniform. It had been a long time. "We've brought enough nukes for everyone." His voice plainly told everyone present he didn't care one bit if he blew himself up to kill the Syndicate members present. "Now put your hands up."

With some hesitation Power Ring, Superwoman and Ultraman finally put their arms up in the air.

"That's what I like to see." Slade motioned for his soldiers to arrest them. "We've got nice cells warmed up for you and your gang members in Belle Reve."

The Justice League left the President to take the Syndicate members away. And now that they had a moment to breath Lex made his way over to M'yri'ah. "Are you okay? Did that bastard hurt you?" He had heard some of her conversation with Diana earlier.

"Of course he did Lex." M'yri'ah didn't even know why he bothered asking.

He didn't know how to be polite about it so he just came out and asked. "Did he…" Or not. How did you ask such a thing of a friend? God, all those graphic letters he received. He never thought they would ever become a reality.

M'yri'ah wondered why that mattered to him. "No." She had been surprised herself. She had been so sure that was the first thing he was going to do when he got her to his home. He just wanted to humiliate her. He wanted her to beg for it and he wasn't going to stop hurting her until she did. So many times she was so afraid and in so much pain. She was horrified when she considered it.

He was relieved that at least she hadn't had to go through that. "I'm so sorry."

"What for?" M'yri'ah asked.

"Because I asked you to watch the President and Rose." Lex explained. "I can't believe he did that." He was so furious. He knew Slade loved his daughter but to give M'yri'ah to him in the slim chance J'edd would actually be true to his word and protect Rose was horrible even for him.

"You didn't know that would happen." M'yri'ah was getting rather sick of having to explain what happened or what was wrong with her, even if she hadn't had to do it very much just yet. "Can we stop talking about it? I just want to go home."

At her words J'onn knew that what happened was finally starting to sink in. She had been so stunned that she hadn't really even reacted to what had happened to her.

"Of course." Lex agreed. He felt bad for mentioning it now. "Let's go home and regroup."

* * *

When they arrived back at the Watchtower M'yri'ah sighed. It was a terrible mess. They were lucky in a way. While it had been ransacked it looked like the Syndicate had forgotten about it momentarily in their efforts to get rid of the League. They could have completely destroyed it or broke the gravity field and sent it down onto the planet below.

Luthor was none too thrilled either. He personally bankrolled this entire operation and it was a disaster. M'yri'ah was about to walk off and Lex stopped her. "Hey, the President wants to see us later." His spirits picked up a little. "Can you imagine you would ever live to see the day when he called us to thank us?"

No she couldn't but she didn't say anything to him.

"Don't plan on staying here too long for right now." Lex didn't want her to go too far. "You'll have more time tonight to get settled back in."

"Okay." M'yri'ah nodded. So she had to rush once more. Well she better get started looking now. She didn't know if she would have another chance.

J'onn followed M'yri'ah into her room, it was right to the side of the hospital wing. It was a very small room with minimal furnishings. It had also been ransacked. When she saw it he felt a wave of misery flow through her. She felt it was yet another violation against her.

M'yri'ah didn't know what she had been expecting. Everything to look as it had before she left? She tried to find a very small music box that belonged to K'hym. It was the last thing she had of her daughter's. She wondered if it had been taken, it had a golden hue so maybe the looters had thought it was made of something more precious than it really was. She let out a frustrated sigh. Time was starting to run out and it was beginning to look hopeless. She just sat down in the middle of the floor for a moment to think. This felt like the straw that broke the camel's back.

"M'yri'ah." J'onn said softly, he waited until she looked at him. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." She said at first then thought about it and decided. "No."

He knew she would say no but he thought he would ask anyway. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"No." She answered quickly.

He nodded. "That's fine. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

After a moment of staring at the wall she finally sighed. "What is wrong with me?" She wondered. "Why does this keep happening?" Why did bad things like this keep happening to her? First it was J'onn's brother and then J'edd. What did she do to deserve being treated so abominably?

He had no answer for her but he thought he might try anyway. "M'yri'ah, you didn't do anything to deserve this. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Sometimes bad things happened over and over again to the innocent." It certainly wasn't fair but unfortunately it happened more than he cared to admit.

"Is this where you tell me everything will be alright and nothing bad will happen to me again?" She felt him kneeling down next to her and she tilted her head to look at him.

"No." He shook his head. "But I want you to know that I love you and I always will." He brushed his thumb across her cheek. "And as long as I am alive I will always try my best to protect you. I will always come for you."

"It would be nice if you didn't have to." She felt so pathetic needing him to rescue her again.

"I suppose it's the hazard of our job." J'onn said. She seemed to think it was only her that ever was held against her will. She thought it was because she was weak. She would be surprised. "I may not look like much of a damsel but I have needed rescuing before."

"You?" M'yri'ah looked at him.

"Yes, of course." He remembered being captured many times before. And each time he had been held it wasn't a pleasant experience. "As you've said, I have been through it myself."

M'yri'ah remembered saying that to him on Mars. She had seen him being held captive. She could see flashes of memories before he pushed them away. He hadn't meant to reveal them to her right now. He seemed so strong for all that he had been through. "I guess I'm a bit of a baby."

"No." He said. "You are just better at expressing emotion than I am. I hide it well."

She thought about that for a moment. "Do you ever want to talk about it? What happened to you all those times?"

"Yes, now that you are here I think I might." If it would help her feel better he would tell her what he had gone through. "But now is probably not the time."

His voice seemed more hurried again. "We need to go again?"

"Yes."

"Will our lives ever slow down?" She wondered. She just wanted to spend a day with him without the world breaking through.

"Yes." He would make sure of it. "When we go back home we will hide away for a while. Just you and me." He stood with her then. He knew there time here was at an end.

Just you and me. That sounded nice.

"Is this what you were looking for?" He almost stepped on a little gold box on their way out the door. It was so small that when he closed his hand over it, it disappeared. He recognized it as something he had given it to K'hym a long time ago. He picked it up in his travels and she used to listen to almost every night before bed.

"Yes." She took it from his hand. "Thank goodness." Now she had everything she wanted to take with her.

* * *

After they received public recognition for their bravery the Justice League was asked to stay for just a while longer to be thanked personally by the President before they left.

Wonder Woman saw that Rose and Slade had called M'yri'ah and J'onn over to speak with them last. She imagined it was because Slade wanted privacy to apologize for what he had done. Too curious for her own good, she decided to follow behind them and hear what Slade had to say. She noticed Lex wasn't far behind her, wanting to see what justifications Slade could come up with for what he did.

"I know this doesn't mean much but I'm sorry young lady." Slade looked stricken. "I'm sorry for what I did." He couldn't imagine what she must have gone through in J'edd's clutches. He didn't want to give any excuses this time. He knew he loved his daughter more than anything but he shouldn't have given someone else away in exchange for her.

"You are forgiven." M'yri'ah understood. It was his daughter. She knew if she was still alive that she would have done anything to keep K'hym safe as well. "Just don't do it again."

J'onn couldn't believe how forgiving she was. He didn't think he could ever excuse Slade for what he did to his wife.

_"Don't feel too bad J'onn."_ M'yri'ah told him in his mind. _"If he had betrayed you I don't think I would forgive him either."_

Rose hugged her. "Thank you for saving me."

Slade nodded, agreeing with Rose. Who knows what would have happened to his daughter if they had stayed together.

M'yri'ah wasn't sure if she could take too much credit, she only lifted a vent cover for her to escape. She did the hard part managing to get away. Rose stepped away from her then went to J'onn.

"And thank you too J'onn." Rose had a hug for him as well. He had defeated the archers after all.

"It was nothing." He said, placing a hand on her back.

"Well, are you and M'yri'ah going to live here in this world now?" Rose asked hopefully. "You both are such good friends. I would be happy if you stayed."

Lex seemed to be interested in the outcome as well. "I was wondering the same thing." Lex looked to J'onn. "Will you be staying with M'yri'ah and I? We could really use the help back at the Watchtower."

"Well," J'onn seemed hesitant. Suddenly all eyes were on him to make a decision on where he wanted to go. Stay here and protect this Earth with Lex and M'yri'ah or go back to his world.

"It's okay if you want to stay J'onn." Diana came forward to speak as well. "You don't have to feel like you need to return." She could understand if he wanted to stay. She knew from their conversations that Mars and its people still existed here. Even if they weren't the same people, she knew it was a great temptation for him.

J'onn wanted this to be private between him and his wife but he supposed this would be a good time to bring it up with all the interested parties looking on expectantly. "M'yri'ah."

M'yri'ah looked up at him. "Yes?"

"I don't mind staying here if you want to."

M'yri'ah couldn't believe he said that. "Really?"

"Yes." He nodded. "At first I thought that by living here with you that I would be giving up my home again. I realize now that home is wherever you are and where we can be happy." He gave her a soft smile. He knew she was attached to Lex and with J'edd gone Mars seemed like a pleasant planet if not abominably hot. She may prefer to stay with him there.

"That is very sweet J'onn." M'yri'ah told him, taking his hand. "But I think we both know you can't stay here with me." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

J'onn found himself holding his breath. He didn't know what she meant by that.

"Because I'm going with you of course." M'yri'ah laughed as he let out a puff of air when he realized she was teasing him again. She knew how much his world meant to him, and for him to offer to stay here to make her happy made her heart ache. _"I do love living here, but I told you before I want to go back with you. Things are too backwards around here anyway."_

He knew there was a reason he loved her so much. _"Thank you."_

_"__That better not be the only reason you love me."_ She thought. _"Because I'm not always going to agree with you."_

_"__Of course not." _

"Really?" Lex brought them out of their thoughts. He sounded so disappointed. He was counting on her to stay and help him rebuild the League.

M'yri'ah hated hearing the frustration in his voice. "Oh Lex, please don't be too upset." She knew she owed him more than she could possibly repay. "If it weren't for you I would not be here right now, but I must leave." She pleaded with him. "Please tell me you understand?"

"I do." Luthor nodded, albeit reluctantly. "So everyone really is gone."

"Not everyone." Slade said. "My term is up next year. I'd be happy to join you then."

"And I think you'll find plenty of Martians who would be happy to help you too." M'yri'ah said. She thought M'rnn would be more than willing to come down to earth to help free J'arkus' victims. He probably only need ask.

Rose looked upset at this new development as well but she seemed to understand. "I'll miss you both."

"And we'll miss you." J'onn told her. He looked up and saw Superman approaching their small group.

"We should get back to our world." Clark suggested. He looked like he was very eager to return home. "We've been gone long enough."

J'onn turned back to M'yri'ah. "Are you ready to go?"

M'yri'ah looked at Lex. This might be the last time she ever saw her leader again. Before she could tell him goodbye he suddenly stepped over to her.

Lex embraced M'yri'ah. "If you two ever need to come back, you know... to visit." He didn't want to sound so dire and say if the world ended again. "You'll know where to find me." He would have to give them a dimensional device to return. "You'll always have a place to go."

"Thank you Lex." She put her arm around him and gave him a light squeeze. "Thanks for everything." She let go of him and stepped over to J'onn. She took her husband's hand. "I'm ready to go home now."

* * *

**Author's notes: Two more chapters to go. Then we will be headed into the next story. ****I don't know if anyone has read the Brightest Day comic villainess D'kay D'razz but I'm using her next. She's worse than J'edd I think. Maybe.**

**In the next chapter we will get a little Batman and Wonder Woman story before heading off into the end.**


	15. Chapter 15

M'yri'ah walked into J'onn's room for the second time. She had been so nervous when she first visited she really hadn't had time to appreciate it. It was a rather simple living area, a combination bedroom and living room area. There was a small kitchen off to the side and a bathroom next to that. It wasn't enormous but it wasn't small either. She did notice the ceiling was high.

When he shut the door behind them M'yri'ah took a nice long stretch before moving to the window to look out into the stars.

"Home sweet home." J'onn repeated something that he heard Clark say once. "At least while we are on duty."

"Yes." She watched as he made himself more comfortable, his cape and the X around his chest faded away. He left the lower half of his clothing untouched. Unlike him she couldn't do anything about the stiff dress she wore until she took it off.

"We can stay for now, unless you don't like the room, in which case we could live somewhere else." J'onn thought how strange that sounded coming from his mouth. He normally didn't rush through his words like that.

M'yri'ah looked back at him and laughed. "Wow."

"What?"

"You sounded like me for a moment there." She said. "Points for sounding awkward."

M'yri'ah had always been expressive compared to himself but he couldn't help but be amused at how much she picked up in her short time living with humans. "Yes, well I didn't want you to feel like you had to live on a space station unless you wanted to." He never thought to ask her. "Where did you live when you were in the other world?"

"When Lex took me in I lived in the Watchtower in the room you saw. Before Lex found me I lived on Earth. When I first arrived, I lived with Dr. Erdel and his daughter for a few years, and then I moved out on my own."

"When Dr. Erdel saw me I gave him a heart attack." Then again, Martian males were tall and had sharp looking edges to them. The women, his wife especially were much smaller and softer looking. "I came to Earth in 1955. Did you as well?"

"Well, no." She seemed shocked to hear that. "I came to earth a little earlier than that."

He wondered about that. Why would that detail change? "So Dr. Erdel took you in and he had a daughter with him?" He never remembered seeing her. He wondered if she existed in this universe.

"Yes." M'yri'ah confirmed. "When I first saw him I was frightened. I had no idea what had happened." She honestly thought she might have gone to some form of hell. Instead of talking about Erdel with J'onn she decided to go back to her time with Lex. "When Lex picked me up it seemed like I went forward in time again."

So she really wasn't that much older than when they had parted. "How many years have you lived since Mars?"

"Maybe ten." M'yri'ah guessed, then she began to wonder. "Maybe more. I don't know. After I came to earth I was upset. Maybe like you I forgot, but I just can't remember."

He hadn't meant for her to start doubting herself. "I'm sure you would remember."

M'yri'ah was quiet for a while. J'onn watched as her hand went up to the glass and she ran her fingers along its surface. At first he thought she must be rubbing dirt off but she was tracing lines between the stars with her fingertips.

"Would you feel more comfortable living here?" He thought he would bring up living on Earth again. He already had a place in mind. "Or somewhere else? Maybe somewhere on Earth instead?"

"It's fine J'onn. Like you said, as long as we are together, its home right?"

His expression softened. "That is true."

"Besides, where else would we go?" She said.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't hide in plain sight like you can anymore." She would miss things like eating at restaurants or being able to go shopping. Suddenly she found herself walled off from a lot of activities. "Not for a while at least."

He had a knowing look on his face. "I'm sure we can think of something."

She was about to ask him what he meant when a knock came at the door. She cursed. She wondered how many times they could be called away.

"Don't worry M'yri'ah." He told her, amused with how irritated she was at their being constantly interrupted. "We'll leave tonight here and spend some time together."

* * *

Clark had come to get them. Obviously he had heard her annoyance and apologized when they came to the door. She felt ashamed of herself for making him feel guilty.

Batman had called a meeting and wanted J'onn to be there.

Clark said M'yri'ah was invited too, along with a few other guests. He apologized again, this time because when they built their conference room they hadn't enough chairs for guests to sit.

Again M'yri'ah found herself standing along the wall beside the table while the founding members sat together. This time Lex wasn't there at the front of the room. She only just realized she was going to miss him terribly. Despite their connection they hadn't been the best of friends until all the other members were dead. But even before then Lex had still been very friendly to everyone. He had been such a kind leader and well liked. She felt some trepidation directed at Batman. While everyone appeared to have a say he seemed to be one of the main leaders of their group.

"It's nice of you to finally join us J'onn." Batman said as his colleague sat down. He called the meeting to order.

M'yri'ah could hear from Bruce's thoughts that he believed she would be a distraction but said nothing to that effect. It hadn't occurred to her but it seemed like everyone on this League was either single or if they were dating they weren't very close with their other halves. She wondered if that was some sort of requirement.

She heard J'onn chuckling in her mind. He was lot more jovial in his thoughts than he was on the outside. She could see he was very straight faced even as he laughed. _"M'yri'ah, don't worry. There will be other friends that are married like us. You will see. Aquaman standing beside you has a wife as well."_

M'yri'ah glanced at the man wearing a uniform that looked like it was made of fish scales. He had blonde hair and the bluest eyes she had ever seen. He looked down at her and gave her an encouraging smile. She reflected one back at him, not sure what else to do. Afterwards she focused back on J'onn and the meeting.

_"Batman isn't used to being intimate."_ J'onn wanted to explain his colleague's thoughts to her. _"He believes loving someone makes him weak. He doesn't know having someone to fight for can make him strong." _Unlike the rest of the League he had been hurt as a young child. The trauma he never sought help for made it difficult for him to form proper relationships. _"But do not worry, he will find a place for you here despite what he might think."_ Bruce was always very professional, even if he didn't agree with someone's choices.

"I believe our absence was noticed when we visited the other Earth." Batman brought up his report on the large screen on the back wall. "Crime has gone up a great deal in our cities." That was only in America. That said nothing to the rest of the world. They really needed to recruit super heroes from around the world to work in their own countries and offer their services if they needed the help. The vision was to make the Justice League more of an international organization rather than just an American one. There was still so much work to be done.

"I guess you were right Batman." Superman said, the statistics were all rather disappointing. "We really do need a lot more help." When they went to Lex's universe they had left their own world vulnerable, and that was saying nothing of the Watchtower. It looked like a hurricane blew through it.

"We were both right." Batman admitted. If he had had it his way they wouldn't be here right now. He hadn't wanted them to leave at all. It would have been a disaster. "And I'm glad you agree with me, because I've already taken the liberty of recruiting some help." He gestured to the heroes beside M'yri'ah. There was the Black Canary, Aquaman and Firestorm none looking worse for the wear after their ordeal with Superwoman's Made Men. "And I suppose we could use a doctor too." Batman added, trying to include M'yri'ah. "Not everyone has skin made of steel or can regenerate in a few seconds."

Superman nodded his approval. Not only was he glad for the help but he was happy to see that Bruce was reaching out to others and learning to trust more. "That's a great idea Batman."

* * *

After their introductions the new recruits had been dismissed while the founding members took a vote. They were all unanimously accepted of course. Afterwards J'onn asked M'yri'ah to explore the Watchtower while he gathered a few things.

When J'onn returned he had a small bag over his shoulder that he held onto by a strap. He found her in the infirmary, trying to familiarize herself with everything.

"There you are." She said. He had been gone for a few hours. "What do you have there?"

"Clothes for you to wear." J'onn stated. He picked out a few things he figured she would like from her memories of when she was on earth. He also picked out a few scrubs for her to use for work. He left those back in their room. "I hope you like them."

"I'm sure everything you picked will be fine." It's not like she could have gone with him. She was just happy he thought of her. "Are we going back to our room now?" She asked hopefully. She just wanted to spend time with him and there were three more people wandering around the space station.

J'onn loved how eager she was to be alone with him, he felt the same. "I thought we might go for a walk together."

"A walk?" M'yri'ah tried not to sound disappointed but she was sure she failed spectacularly.

He smiled at her tone. "What's the matter? I thought you liked going on walks with me."

"I did. I mean, I do." She stammered. "I just wanted to be alone with you."

"I didn't mean for us to walk up here on the Watchtower." He clarified. "I wanted to go for a walk down on Earth. I wanted to show you something."

That didn't sound so bad. Her expression lightened. "What is it?"

"It's a surprise."

"Of course it is." She sighed. She hated surprises and he knew it but she supposed it wasn't the end of the world. "Can we leave now?" She didn't want to wait for something to happen and have them be rushed to some other disaster.

"Of course." J'onn led her to the transporter room where Batman was making repairs. He walked to a rather large control panel and began pushing buttons. From his memories M'yri'ah realized that only Batman and J'onn knew how to work the transporters. She supposed they were the coordinators for the League.

Bruce caught sight of them from the corner of his eye. "Are you still planning on leaving?" He didn't even look up from the monitor.

"Yes, I'll be gone for a few days." J'onn confirmed.

Batman's mouth thinned. He was obviously irritated J'onn was leaving when there was still so much to be done.

"You know if it were any other day I would help you." J'onn told him evenly, he could read Batman even if he couldn't hear his thoughts. Bruce knew on the last Watchtower that J'onn practically lived there. He had no one else to look after so he didn't mind working all the time. "There will be plenty left for me to do when I get back."

"Oh J'onn," Wonder Woman came up from behind. "Don't worry about a thing. I'll be here to help Batman with anything he needs. Take all the time you need." She watched as J'onn entered in his desired coordinates at the main computer before he took his wife by the hand to lead her to the teleportation pads.

"Goodbye Diana. We shall see you soon." J'onn nodded to her and then looked at Bruce. "You as well Batman."

"Goodbye J'onn." Diana waved at them. She saw M'yri'ah wave back before she disappeared. When they were gone Diana looked at Bruce from the corner of her eye. "Don't you think it's romantic?"

"What?" He went back to work on the computers.

"That they still love each other even after all that time." Diana seemed thoughtful.

"They haven't had to live together." Bruce said. "They've both been dead to each other for years." It was easy to love someone when they couldn't disappoint you.

"You think that will matter?"

Bruce thought on it for a moment. The cynical part of him wanted to say he didn't think it would last, but the other part of him that knew J'onn and his dedication to the ones he loved. He knew if he said yes that it wouldn't be true. "No." J'onn reminded him quite a bit of his father in that regard. His father Thomas only had eyes for his mother. He loved her so completely. Bruce knew he would never be able to love someone else like that. He was too broken.

"Bruce." Diana's voice was warm.

Well, maybe. "Yes?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just wanted to say your name." She went to him and kissed his cheek. "I'm very proud of you today. I'm so glad you are finally beginning to trust others more."

"It's not like I have much of a choice." They were spread so thin as it was and not even Superman could be everywhere at once.

"Still." She left it at that.

Batman stared at her for a moment and then looked back at his computer. He hadn't been a stranger to death but the last few days without her had got him thinking about his life and where he wanted to be when he was an old man. It didn't help that Owlman had practically shoved various scenarios down his throat. He always assumed he would die young given his line of work, but what if he didn't? Did he really want to be in his parent's mansion when he was eighty years old, wondering what could have been? Did he really want to be like his brother, thinking so little of humanity that nothing mattered?

"Are you alright Bruce?" Diana asked.

He had gotten so distracted he wasn't pushing buttons on the keyboard anymore. He closed his eyes for a moment to clear his mind, but it wasn't working. His head wasn't in the game. "Diana?"

"Yes?"

Bruce looked at her face. She was so beautiful and strong. He told her once that he wouldn't forgive himself if she got hurt because of him. But that wasn't right was it? He was afraid that she would hurt him. He tried to form the words he wanted to tell her. That maybe, just maybe if they were discreet he could give it a try. He was so frozen on the spot though. He couldn't even open his mouth.

While she couldn't read his mind, she knew him enough to know when he was conflicted. Diana went to him and watched for any hesitation on his part. He allowed her to get close to him without moving away. That was always a good sign. He wasn't much taller than her, so she merely closed her eyes and tilted her head up.

Bruce knew she was waiting for him. She wasn't going to do all the work for him after all. He had a decision to make. He took in a breath and weighed his options quickly, and then he realized he always knew what he wanted. He could let himself hope, right? He put his hands on her shoulders and brought her forward to give her a kiss.

* * *

**Author's notes: Sorry for the brevity of this chapter. This was originally going to be my final chapter but it kept going on and on and on and after I hit 20 pages I knew something had to give. I found this was a good stopping point. So you'll get the conclusion after I give it a read through again. The next chapter will have a romantic scene of course.**

**If you couldn't tell I absolutely love Batman and Wonder Woman. They will be appearing in the sequel. I wanted to give a big thanks to my husband for helping me with my story so I can include them in a meaningful way.**

**I'm working on the sequel and I should hopefully have the first chapter up just as the 16****th**** chapter is finished. It has been a giant pain in the rear. I've been changing the story around and trying to make it better. **

**The prequel I was working on is finished I just need my proofreader to go through it. There are 8 chapters in all unless I decide to go crazy and add more. The first chapter is up. It is a drama of when J'onn is younger and meets M'yri'ah. It's kind of silly (and horrible) but I had fun writing it.**

**Thanks so much for all the favorites and reviews – I really appreciate them. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's notes: Thanks for reading my story guys. I'm sending you off with a bang! Please be aware there is a graphic romantic scene at the end of this story.**

**If you enjoyed Crisis please read the continuation to this story: Night of Shadows. It should be posted already.**

* * *

When J'onn and M'yri'ah materialized they were on the edge of a forest. It almost looked like the place J'onn had brought her to when they had been in the other universe.

There was nothing else around so she drew her own conclusion. "Your surprise is a walk in the forest?" It did look beautiful.

"It's in the forest." J'onn chuckled. "But yes we'll need to walk to get there. I didn't put us directly where we are headed. I wanted to give us a little time to walk together." He took her by the hand and led her to a trail nearby.

When he said a little walk she wasn't sure what he meant. An hour went by, and then another. It wasn't that she wasn't having a good time looking at all the trees and listening to the sounds as the night animals came out. They also enjoyed chatting together about their lives away from each other, but she was starting to wonder where they were headed and how much longer it would take to get there. They could run there of course, or fly and get there much faster, but he was set on this slow pace.

M'yri'ah realized he was just giving her what she wanted. She felt so rushed these last few days and he was trying to slow things down for her. It was hard to adjust to them slowing down and there was a part of her that wanted to know what lay ahead but maybe she should enjoy this moment while she could.

M'yri'ah looked up through the trees at the moon high overhead. It looked like it was full tonight as it illuminated the path in front of them. They had been walking since before the sun set. She started trying to guess what the surprise was. Since they were far out into the woods she thought they might be making camp, but he didn't bring anything with them to do so. Maybe he just wanted to go for a walk for a while before they headed back to the Watchtower. Or maybe he was taking her to a lake to go swimming.

J'onn continued to hold her hand as they walked along, humming different tunes she wasn't familiar with. She paused as a cold breeze blew by. Its chill permeated the fabric of her clothing down to her skin. Fall was definitely settling in and the warm day was long gone. "Are you cold?" He asked. She was only wearing the dress M'yrnn had given her.

She shook her head but he still put his arm around her shoulder and she could feel his warmth surrounding her. He continued walking with his hand on her shoulder, leading her along. "Did you tell anyone where we are going?" She asked, trying to make conversation. She knew he told Batman next to nothing, maybe he said something to someone else.

"I told them we would be gone for a few days and not to try to find me unless there is an emergency." They knew how to find him if they needed him.

"Are you going to tell me where we're headed?" M'yri'ah wondered. It felt like they had been walking a long time.

"You'll see." Was his cryptic answer.

She knew J'onn meant for this to be a pleasant walk with just the two of them but her thoughts went to J'edd when he lead her through a forest not but a couple days ago. She clutched at J'onn a little harder than she meant to just to remind herself where she was. She was so relieved to be away from J'edd and here with husband again.

"He's dead." J'onn knew what she was thinking about. He squeezed her arm gently to remind her he was there now.

"I know." She wished she hadn't thought about J'edd now. She didn't want to spoil their time together.

"I was saying that more for myself." J'onn said. While he was angry at J'arkus he had also been terrified that M'yri'ah was going to die or be maimed mentally so that she would never recover. He had been so happy when she woke up and spoke to him. "I never felt so glad someone was gone in my whole life." Except maybe for when his brother died.

M'yri'ah hadn't asked and she hasn't delved into his thoughts on the subject, afraid of what she might see. "Did you do it? Kill him I mean."

"No. I wanted to but Clark stopped me and then I came for you" J'onn told her. He figured she wouldn't know what happened. She had been so hurt at the time she couldn't have paid any attention to what he was doing to J'edd. "I'm not surprised that there were others angrier at him than I." Clark said they didn't settle for pelting him with stones for long. They tore J'edd apart before he could even intervene. "He didn't last long against the crowd." When she shuddered he was even happier he hadn't killed J'arkus. She would have thought him a monster he was sure.

"I wouldn't think you were a monster." M'yri'ah defended, moving out from under his arm and turning to face him.

"Maybe so." He thought on it. "But Clark was right. I shouldn't head down that path. I began enjoying hurting him. I wanted him to suffer for hurting you." That wasn't even the worst part. "And then I left you alone in that room for even longer when you needed me. I have no excuse for that."

As he spoke he could see his memories surfacing of what he did to J'arkus. He was being so unreasonable thinking he was spending an inordinate amount of time fighting him. "J'onn that all happened in your mind. It probably only lasted a few minutes in the real word."

He frowned at her. She missed the point.

Now she frowned at him. "I understand where you and Clark are coming from but the world isn't as black and white as that. I know you know this. It is good to keep yourself in check but I also don't think you should beat yourself up over it either. You are allowed to have feelings you know. You are allowed to get angry. Just because you hurt someone who deserves it doesn't make you just as bad as they are. You would definitely have a lot of catching up to do."

"I suppose." He guessed he could concede to that. "I also worried how similar we are."

"How?" Now he really was being ridiculous.

"Some mannerisms I guess. The timing of things." He tried to explain. He couldn't destroy memories without knowing them and when he had been in J'arkus' mind he saw some things that disturbed him. J'edd had also been a Manhunter a long time ago, albeit an awful one. They had similar origins and sometimes had similar interests that didn't' involve villainy. J'edd even met M'ar'leen in a similar way that J'onn had met M'yri'ah. It was just too strange.

"You aren't him J'onn."

"I know I'm not." He sighed. "I just don't want to scare you." He looked like he wanted to touch her but hesitated, his fingers curling in on themselves as he dropped his hand to the side.

She didn't miss his movements. "Please don't do this again." She shook her head. "It was horrible enough when your brother hurt me and you were afraid of touching me. I don't want to do that again." After what happened with Ma'alefa'ak he had withdrew himself somewhat to give her time to deal with the attack, but there had been an unreasonable part of her mind that thought maybe he just didn't want her after what had happened. Their lack of communication afterwards had made everything so much worse than it had to be.

"I won't M'yri'ah." He assured her. He thought he proved that he wasn't afraid of touching her when they made love early this morning but he would try not to be as cautious from now on when handling her.

"If you are doing something that bothers me, believe me I'll let you know it." M'yri'ah said, crossing her arms over her chest. "You know me."

"Yes. I know." His expression lightened, she looked so stubborn.

Now that that was out of the way she hoped he would just tell her what they were doing already. She felt she had waited long enough. "Are you going to tell me where we are going or what?"

He laughed. "Not yet. Don't be so impatient."

One of her eyebrows rose fractionally more than the other. "You remember who you are talking to right?"

"Oh yes, I forgot." She was rather impatient.

"I guess patience is something you learn with age." She said offhandedly

J'onn tried not to laugh at her. "You keep making fun of how old I am."

"Well, it's one of the few things I can tease you about, Mr. Perfect." She inflicted the last word of her sentence.

"I'm not perfect, but I suppose I am close." He joked.

"So modest too." She countered.

"If you want to know so badly then walk with me." He said, steering their conversation into more productive territory. "It is just a little farther." They had only walked a few steps when another gust of wind blew the leaves from the trees. She kept stopping in her tracks every time a strong wind blew by. "I suppose we should have stopped for you to change your clothes."

"I'm not bothered really." It was nice to be warm, but it did get pretty cold on Mars. She was only stopping to hold her skirt down. She didn't bother telling him that though. "Besides, I can tell that you like my dress."

"It is distracting." He admitted. It did show off her long legs.

M'yri'ah looked ahead on the trail, seeing a clearing ahead. Her eyes focused in on it and saw a small house by a lake.

"You are spoiling the surprise." He chided. Her only reply to him was to give him a smile and run ahead of him to see what he was being so secretive about. "M'yri'ah!" He followed after her, albeit a bit more slowly. He really wasn't in a rush. When he finally caught up to her she was on the porch of his small house. He clucked his tongue at her for being so impatient. "You couldn't wait could you?"

"Of course not." M'yri'ah was holding on to one of the supports to the roof of the porch. She watched as he slowly made his way up the steps.

When he finally reached the top step he asked, "What do you think?"

"It's beautiful." A cloud passed over the moon, casting great shadows over the home and the land around it. "How did you find it?"

"I tend to wander around from time to time." He walked through the front door, not bothering to open it. She was close behind. He flipped on the switch on the wall and the room flooded with light. He placed her bag on the table and walked behind her as she went from room to room. It didn't take long, it wasn't a very big home.

"It's cute." There wasn't much to it but she liked how simple it was. "Did you rent it for the weekend?"

"No, I own it." At her shocked expression he added. "You seem surprised." In his many years on earth he had worked several jobs as a human. Having nothing else that he really wanted, he decided to pick out this secluded spot to call his home.

"You own a house in the middle of nowhere?" Why hadn't she thought of that?

"I wanted a place to go to get away from everything and be myself."

She knew the feeling, but she didn't want to spoil this moment by feeling sorry for herself. She should focus on the fact that she could live here with J'onn and not have to worry about someone seeing her. There were other options than living on a space station now.

He thought he would be honest with her. "There isn't much to this place as you can see. It's not very modern either. You might actually like it more on the Watchtower." At least there they would have television and other had conveniences.

"I love it J'onn." She smiled at him. "I'm happy you brought me here."

His expression softened. "I'm glad you like it."

It didn't look very dusty. "Did you have someone clean in here for you?"

She was wondering why it was so clean, perhaps thinking he didn't come here often. "I was staying here recently. Batman just started building the Watchtower." That would be a story for a later date.

She watched as he once again withdrew his cape and chest straps into himself, leaving the lower half of his uniform intact. "You can get more comfortable if you like." She didn't want him to think it would bother her if he took on his true form in front of her.

His only reply was to smile at her, but he remained the same. He would wait until she could turn into her true self too. He was in no hurry.

M'yri'ah walked to the window in the living room. With the light on she had to get close to see outside in the darkness. If she focused she could see the stars behind the reflection. "I wonder if I'll have much to do here in Justice League." She thought out loud. "We had so many humans in Lex's group. Everyone here seems pretty sturdy."

J'onn came up behind her and she stared up at his reflection in the glass. He tugged at her hair until she looked back at him "I'm sure you'll find something to do."

"I'm sure I will." She said as he brought his mouth down on hers.

After he kissed her she broke away from him, giving him a teasing look. That was fine. He would let her play with him. "Medic is an interesting name you picked out." J'onn said conversationally, watching as she moved around the room to become familiar with it. He had very few belongings but what he did have she touched.

"So is yours." She thought his moniker was odd, Martian Manhunter. It's like he was named after his species and then his job. She found herself putting J'onn's friends' names in the same context: Human Batman or Kryptonian Superman. "I didn't pick it so much as that's what my job was. Bad people called me Medic. Mostly my friends just called me by my name."

"Me too." His friends on the Justice League didn't bother with his hero name. But then again he also never had anyone in his life he needed to protect with a secret identity either. Not that identities were in short supply to him. He could be whoever he wanted wherever he wanted. He watched as she took something from her bag. It was K'hym's music box. She knew he wouldn't leave it behind.

"I can't believe you have a fireplace." She teased him, finally coming to it.

"It came with the house." He was thinking of bricking it up. She put her lone possession, the music box, amongst his things on the mantle. M'yri'ah told him it no longer worked. He would have to see if he could fix it later.

M'yri'ah went into the small kitchen and was quiet for a long while as she looked around the cupboards seeing where everything was. When she was finished she came to sit at his small table. There were two chairs for him to sit with her but he stood instead. He much rather watch her for now. "J'onn?" She finally broke the silence.

"Hm?"

"Back on Mars," She wasn't sure how to begin. "Well thank you, for not leaving me behind." She meant when he wouldn't break their connection. With all the pain she endured he could have easily severed their connection and allowed her to suffer alone.

"It was nothing." He came to stand near here.

"No it wasn't nothing." She didn't want him to cheapen what he did for her by being modest. "You didn't have to and I would have understood. I just..." She didn't know how to continue.

"I would die for you." J'onn said, interrupting her. "So a few burns really do mean nothing to me."

She didn't know what to say to that and felt her eyes darting back to the window.

No matter how many years he knew her, she would always be that beautiful girl he met so long ago. Just when he felt like he was about to kiss her again she opened her mouth to speak.

"I missed you."

"We've been together the last couple days." He said, intentionally misunderstanding her.

"I meant before silly." She laughed. "I missed seeing your face. I missed your droning." She meant the way he thought he sounded when he talked. "I love your voice. I can't believe you are here."

"I feel the same." It would take a while to get used to her being here without the fear of her just disappearing on him. In his many years without her he had dreams of her coming into his life again. Some of them were quite elaborate and so real to him, but as always he woke up and found her missing.

M'yri'ah got up from the table and went to him. She tilted her head up and stood on her toes. He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. She enjoyed feeling his warm hands on her face. "I want you." She told him when she ended their kiss.

"I think I can help you with that." He led her to the master bedroom. He knew she was going to tease him again once they were inside so he was prepared for it.

She saw the size of his bed almost laughed. While it might be perfect for someone her height and size she was sure that if he were to lie down on it right now it would only be wide enough to accommodate the span of his shoulders.

As he read her thoughts he playfully showed her how right she was. He let go of her hand and went to lie on the bed. When he rested against it he released his arms and they hung off the sides. He even wiggled his feet to show her that they hung off the edge of the bed. She couldn't stifle the laughter at how silly he looked. He sat up on the bed now, happy he could make her laugh. "I think I need to get a bigger bed."

"No kidding." She had to ask. "Did this come with the house too?"

"No. It was cheap and I really don't sleep on a bed anyway." He could sleep standing, sitting, floating or hanging upside down off the ceiling. He had only gotten it for show or for a guest.

M'yri'ah could hear his thoughts and she thought he had developed strange sleeping rituals since his time away from her. "Well, I do like sleeping on a bed." She looked at it. "I suppose I could sleep on top of you for now." She had been serious but didn't realize how it might have sounded until he chuckled in amusement.

"Or I could sleep on top of you." J'onn suggested, with just as serious of a tone as she used when she said she could sleep on him.

"That might be uncomfortable, you are very big." She said as he pulled her to sit next to him on the bed.

"Oh?" J'onn couldn't help the grin that was beginning to form on his mouth.

He was so awful. "You know what I meant."

"Of course. What did you think I meant?" He teased her, tugging her onto his lap.

"Nothing." M'yri'ah rolled her eyes at him. She was sure at this point no matter what she said he was going to turn it into an innuendo.

"I think we could probably talk for days." He said, looking at her in such a way that made her shiver.

"Probably." M'yri'ah glanced away shyly. "But you are going to tell me that you don't want to talk right now?"

"How did you know?" J'onn kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her nose and then finally her lips. While he kissed her she kissed his chin, his eyelids, anything she could reach. When he finally found her mouth he held her head in place by the hair while he kissed her. His other hand trailed down slowly to her breasts, her stomach and then her legs. He moved his hand up the hem of her dress.

Her legs trembled before she jerked her knees together.

J'onn looked at her face to see her reaction. She wasn't afraid. She looked like she was trying not to laugh. "You are very sensitive today."

"You are tickling me." She explained.

J'onn had forgotten that sometimes she needed a firmer hand. "I missed you." He kissed her again, this time staring right into her eyes until she closed hers. He let his finger trail down from her neck until it came to rest over her breast. He pinched the pointed center through the fabric of her dress, causing her to gasp into his mouth. He didn't think about her dress before, as it seemed now she had at least thirty or forty small buttons going down her front. It looked like she had been practically poured into the top of it. While she would normally be able to slip out of it easily, her condition made it to where he was going to have to take it off the old fashioned way.

M'yri'ah smiled against his mouth as he patiently undid one button at a time. He moved back to see what she was smiling about. He barely gotten to the base of her throat when she told him. "I don't care about this dress."

That's all the permission he really needed. J'onn slid his finger down the split of her garment, causing dozens of buttons to pop off and dance on the floor. He stood up with her and helped pull her arms out of the sleeves and tossed the dress on the foot of the bed. He hadn't noticed before but her undergarments seemed to be breakaways. He grabbed ahold of them and tugged, the snaps popped off easily. He tossed them to join the buttons on the floor.

She gave him a disturbed look. "The things humans wear."

Now that she was undressed he pulled her to him. "I think I like them."

"You would." The skin on his chest was so warm against hers. It took the chill out of the room. He dipped his head down to kiss her. His rough hands started on her face then they trailed down quickly after that. He seemed to enjoy running his hands along the dips and peaks of her body before pulling her close on the way back up.

M'yri'ah's arms slid around his neck. Her tongue slipped into his mouth and she brushed it over his in a rhythmic fashion, causing his eyes to open a little in surprise. He wouldn't mind getting used to this. He answered her back, tilting his head to the side to delve deeper. He ended their kiss and pushed her on the bed.

J'onn was over top of her before she could blink. He bit at her neck and trailed his hand down over her breast. She let out a strangled sound and reached out to run her hands along his shoulders and chest. He rolled to his side, taking her with him. He pinned her hands down with one of his own to the bed over her head. He bit her neck again and she felt herself becoming almost painfully aroused. He started on her other breast, giving it as much attention as the first between his rough fingers. He was watching to see her reaction and she felt a pleasant shiver move through her body.

He liked the way she rubbed her knees together when she was excited. He released her hands and kissed her neck on the way down to her breasts where he sucked and pulled on them with his mouth. M'yri'ah cradled his head in her arms and let out soft sounds of pleasure that drove him mad. She moaned his name and began pressing her hips into his stomach. He moved off of her again, sliding off the bed. He kneeled down in front of her, pulling her legs off to the side. He enjoyed seeing the shocked look on her face as she sat up to see what he was up to.

"J'onn?" They had been so close a moment before, she felt cold now that he moved away.

"You'll see." He kissed her flat stomach before pulling one of her knees up over her shoulder. He nipped the inside of her thigh before trailing his tongue closer.

Memories of his fingers brushing against her flooded her mind. She was curious how this would feel but he wasn't being very forthcoming. He continued to kiss near her, but never giving her what she really wanted. "You are a tease J'onn." She finally said.

"Consider it payback." She could feel him grinning against her thigh. "For teasing me before at the rally."

"Oh, I didn't know you were the vengeful type." Her laugh had a sort of breathy quality as he continued to kiss and bite at her inner thigh.

"I guess you don't know me well then." He said, tugging her closer to the edge of the bed. "I told you I would show you how much I loved you."

"You did." She felt his warm breath against her.

"Mm." J'onn looked up at her and her face was flooded with color, she could hardly look at him. "You're so shy."

"I..." He slowly rolled his tongue over her and she forgot what she was going to say. "Oh, J'onn."

He missed her beautiful face and how sweet she looked when he touched her. His hand moved up her chest and he pushed her until her back rested against the bed.

M'yri'ah looked at the stars outside the window before closing her eyes against the warm feelings that were spreading through her. He was so patient. He slid his tongue in long gentle strokes until her body began to rock into him. She whimpered and clutched at his hand holding her down onto the bed. Her breathing slowed and her body tightened, her legs began winding themselves around his neck. All in steps, all so slowly until he heard her gasp that final time. When she came he felt her pleasure sharply within the center of himself and she began to writhe mindlessly against him as the sensation of it overtook her.

J'onn kissed her one final time, causing her overstimulated body to jump. He was surprised when she leaned up so quickly and kissed him then, tasting herself on him.

She tried pushing him over onto his back on the floor and at first he didn't allow her, but finally acquiesced with a laugh when she growled at him. "It's my turn."

Maybe she wasn't so shy after all.

"You know, you are being rude keeping your clothes on." She informed him.

"So I have." He obliged her request and his clothing faded away.

M'yri'ah gave him a playful smile before sliding down him. She took him into her mouth and listened for his reactions to her touch and let that guide her. J'onn touched her face, her hair. For a brief moment she heard him think he might like her finish him this way, but she had other plans. She released him and he thought she wanted to take a break to kiss him again but she lifted herself above him intending to bring herself down on him.

He took hold of her hips and she whined. He smiled at her impatience. "M'yri'ah." He said and then she looked up at him.

When she met his gaze she felt him pushing up into her, stretching her with each thrust. Again he went maddeningly slow, inching his way into her. She tried wiggling her hips out of his grasp but he held her fast. She growled at him. Did he have to take control of her even when she was above him? It was a fleeting thought however, as when he was fully seated within her did he began lifting and dropping her on him in long slow strokes. She felt him almost slide out before he pulled her down and pushed himself all the back way in, filling her again. And so he went, over and over again. She began rocking her hips in time with his gentle rhythm. Their breathing synchronized and their hearts began beating together as one. She shuddered, her eyes shot open before closing them again. She saw flashes of light behind her lids. Her whole body arched. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't stop it now. His relentless thrusting finally sent her over the edge.

Her excitement only magnified his own and he too almost lost himself in her moment of wild abandon. Instead he focused on her. She had a pretty face when she came, like she was waking up from a dream. When she wilted against him she made such a contented sound he couldn't help but laugh wickedly at her.

The sound of his laughter woke her up from the haze. She lifted herself to look at his face. "You haven't yet have you?"

"No." He said honestly.

M'yri'ah looked disappointed as she lifted herself back up on him. "I'm sorry." She knew he was the giving sort and he always had enjoyed giving her pleasure. He also seemed to enjoy having power over her body as well. But still, he never seemed to fight coming this much before.

"I feel everything you do, so don't feel bad for me." As if to show her, he thumbed the mass of nerves between her legs and shuddered with her.

She knew when he felt pleasure at her touch from their connection but she couldn't feel it as he did. "You can do that?"

"Yes." It's something he learned several years ago. It worked like when they had a connection together, how he could feel her pain when it was mindless. He had trained himself to feel his lover's pleasure as well. "It is easy. Would you like me to show you how?"

"Of course." He got into a sitting position with her still on top of him. She was about to lift herself off of him when he stopped her.

"You'll want to stay like this." He said.

She took him at his word and settled on him. "Okay."

J'onn took her head in his hands, like he had before when they first met again. "Now focus on me," His eyes began to glow and she felt his mind piecing into her deeper and deeper still. "M'yri'ah."

As he said her name she felt it within her whole being. He allowed their connection to go deeper until she felt all that he did. She could feel his pleasure at being buried within her body. He released her head and took hold of her hips again. He lifted her and her body went stiff with the sensation and brought her back down. She could feel it, her heat, and the feel of her wrapped tightly around him. "Oh God." She shuddered. "I wish you showed me this before."

She really had no idea what he had gotten herself into. "You'll probably wish I hadn't."

"I doubt that." She purred. It was so nice feeling both of their pleasure at once she couldn't possibly think of a downside.

"You'll see." J'onn's voice was so full of promise that she shook from it. He allowed her to control the pace for a while, lifting herself on and off him. She murmured her pleasure, rocking on him until she came. He took in a steadying breath against her release and watched her as she began again.

Now that she knew what he liked she began building him up and up, ready to feel the pleasure of his release as well. M'yri'ah was on the verge again herself. She was sure she could make them come together. She took in a breath, there it was. He took hold of her hips as she came, leaving him behind. "J'onn." His name was a strangled sob when he withdrew from her.

J'onn rolled her underneath him, pinning her to the wooden floor and then buried himself into her again.

All her nerve endings were on fire as he brushed against them. "Oh please J'onn." It was so easy for her body to find its release when she felt like this and she did over and over even as he pressed her into the floor. But the part that was connected to him now wouldn't allow itself to be satisfied until he came too. It felt like the moment she came it didn't matter and her passions began burning again. When he began to surge into her hard she felt sure he was going to come this time. She wrapped her legs around his hips and held onto him. So close...

He stopped again and M'yri'ah let out a cry of frustration. He seemed to enjoy denying himself. "You're cruel." She felt like she was going to lose her mind if he didn't stop.

"You asked for it." J'onn panted, he didn't sound like he felt sorry for her at all.

That was true. She did ask him to connect with her. But still, there were limits to how much teasing she could take. J'onn pinned her arms down and she felt acute pleasure from him at how helpless she looked underneath him. He kissed her and began burying himself into her again. This time it was more of a grinding motion than the pushing and pulling from before.

It didn't seem fair that he could make her feel this way and yet deny himself. "Oh…" Her body trembled again. M'yri'ah was getting so exhausted but it felt so good she couldn't help herself. After she was finished gasping in the aftermath of her release she continued rocking her hips against him. She could practically feel him coming already. He stopped and withdrew from her yet again. It was like someone had pressed a reset button on her. "J'onn!" She screamed, starting to get angry.

J'onn chuckled at how upset she was at him. She glared at him and felt he might have crossed the line by laughing at her. He felt her trying to get up and away from him. "Where are you going?"

"You are driving me mad." M'yri'ah huffed, trying to get out from under him. She pushed at his shoulders. "I can't deal with you right now. Get off of me."

He would let go of her if she really wanted but he thought he could convince her to stay. "Are you going to deny me?" He sounded more amused than anything.

Her eyes narrowed in on him. "As far as I'm concerned it doesn't seem like you even want anything other than to drive me crazy."

"That's not true." He said. "Although it was fun." She growled at him again and he laughed. "Don't be mad at me M'yri'ah. I'll give you what you want."

"I doubt that." But she didn't make a motion to leave anymore. "Okay."

"Thank you for your sacrifice." J'onn teased, grinning when she made a snorting sound. He withdrew from her and flipped her onto her stomach before bringing her hips up. He entered her again, thrusting slowly into her until he was sure her anger subsided. When he was sure she was pleased with him again he took her arms and pulled them back for leverage.

She trembled and gasped. He entered her steadily until all apprehension of him stopping again had faded. He was on the cusp but he held on a while longer, teasing himself. She wanted his release so desperately but had no real power over what he did with his own body. She could only feel what he felt. "Please." She begged him to come.

When he finally allowed his own release her body locked up and she let out a wail. He felt her crushing down on him and he groaned. As he poured himself into her he felt her contentment and joy.

"J'onn." His name was little more than a sigh.

When his pleasure finally subsided he released her arms so she could brace herself on her elbows. After a few moments he withdrew himself from her and she let out a whimper. J'onn got up to sit on the bed and pulled her throbbing body into his lap. They were both covered in sweat. "You are louder than I remember."

She was a little embarrassed about that. "Sorry." She hid her face in his neck.

"No, it's okay." He sighed contentedly, stroking the smooth skin of her back. "I like it."

"That was so nice." M'yri'ah took a deep breath, and finally her panting ceased. "Except the part where you were tormenting me."

"So pretty much the whole time?" J'onn guessed.

"Maybe not the whole time." M'yri'ah admitted, moving away from him enough to give him a teasing look. "You really are awful you know?" She crawled from his lap onto the mattress. When they both lay down side by side they could fit together on their bed, but just barely.

"I know, but you still love me do you not?"

"Maybe." She grinned.

"You better. You are so insatiable I doubt anyone else could handle you."

He was probably right about that. While she was contented for now she had always been rather demanding and he had always been more than happy to give her what she wanted. M'yri'ah couldn't imagine anyone else making her as happy as he did. "I think you were made for me in that regard."

"Or you were made for me." He countered. "I am older than you after all."

"And I suppose I should respect my elders." She couldn't help but tease him about his age.

"It couldn't hurt." He ran his hand over the back of her head and she shivered. "I love you M'yri'ah."

"I love you too J'onn." Her arms were once again around his neck and drawing him into her.

J'onn felt M'yri'ah's soft lips brush against his. He felt something then, happiness, sadness all assaulting him.

J'onn remembered the great joy when he met her and she went into his arms for the first time. He knew he loved her from the first moment he saw her. He remembered when he made M'yri'ah his wife and all their pleasurable nights together getting to know one another. When he held their child for the first time, the love he felt for her was almost more than he could bear. He remembered their happy years together were too few before they were torn from their home and she and their daughter were taken from him. How he wept as he buried them. All the lonely years without her and how he had made himself forget just so he had the strength to carry on.

Then new memories formed as he saw M'yri'ah transform in the chair at the police station. He had been angry going down to Earth, expecting to find his brother somehow alive and then finding instead a miracle.

All his emotions and everything he felt for her was reflected back at him. When he felt the wave of her love surround him it took his breath away.

When she broke their kiss the world seemed to stop for a moment.

This was all so familiar. He felt like he was a young man again and the world was so new and full of promise. He could do anything, go anywhere and be anything he wanted. But all he ever wanted was to be right here lying next to her.

"I'm tired." She said softly. "You've worn me out."

"Then sleep." He watched as her eyes eventually closed. His eyelids grew heavy soon after and the sound of her even breathing began to lull him off to sleep. As he closed his eyes J'onn knew even if he lived to see the end of time, that he would never love someone as much as he loved his M'yri'ah.


End file.
